The new housekeeper's manual

IWiN rm at>mtiim<wm^^&:î^''^s,iu^

*,J' ) ..'

-PtefefeM^^-1

s,.1v.S),„'ftmnni«.!i(lX>.HHJ!>!n".'J,. V

ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARYCornell University

Gift of

Thomas Bass

142

The original of tliis book is in

tlie Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright restrictions in

the United States on the use of the text.

http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924090142138

THE NEW

HOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL:EfimRACma A NEW REVISED EDITION OF

THE AMERICAN WOMAN'S HOME;OE, PRINCIPLES OF DOMESTIC SCIENCE.

BEING A GDIDB TO EOONOMIOAI,, HEAiTHFUL, BEAUTIFUL, AND CHRISTIAN

HOMES.

BT

CATHEEINE E. BEECHER asd HAEEIET BEECHEE STOWE.

lOGETHEE WITH

THE HANDY COOK-BOOK:A COMPLETE CONDENSED GUIDE TO WHOLESOME, ECONOMICAL, AND

DELICIOUS COOKINO.

GlVnJO NEARLY 600 CHOICE AND WELL-TESTED RECEIPTS.

By CATHERINE E. BEEOHBE.

IllttiStrateti,

NEW YOEK:J. B'. POED AND COMPANY.

1873.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873,

BY J. B. FORD & CO.,

in the Office of tlie Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

University Press: Welch, Bigelow, & Co.,

Cambridge.

TO

THE WOMEN OF AMEEICA,

nr WHOSE HANDS REST THE KEAL DESTHflES OP THE £aiP531!LIO,

MOULDED BT THE EARLY TRAINING AND PRESERVED

AMID THE MATTJRER INFLUENCES OE HOME,

THIS VOLUME IS

AFFECIIONATBLY INSCRIBED.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PART I.

introduotion:

The chief cause of woman's disabilities and sufferings, that women are

not trained, as men are, for their peculiar duties—Aim of this volumeto elevate the honor and remuneration of domestic employment—Wo-man's duties, and her utter lack of training for them—Qualifications of

the writers of this volume to teach the matters proposed—Experience

and study of woman's work—Conviction of the dignity and importance

of it—The great social and moral power in her keeping—The princi-

ples and teachings of Jesus Christ the true basis of woman's rights and

duties.—Pages 13^16.

THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY.

Object of the Family State—Duty of the elder and stronger tp- raise the

younger, weaker, and more ignorant to an equality of advantages—Dis-

cipline of the family—The example of Christ one of self-sacrifice as

man's elder brother—His assumption of a low estate—His manual labor

—His trade—Woman the chief minister of the family estate—^Man the

out-door laborer and provider—Labor and self-denial in the mutual re-

lations of home-life, honorable, healthful, economical, enjoyable, and

Christian.—Pages 17-32.

A CHRISTfAN HOUSE.

True wisdom in building a home—Necessity of economizing time, labor,

and expense, by the close packing of conveniences—Plan of a model cot-

tage—Proportions—Piazzas—Entry—Stairs and landings—Large room—^Movable Screen—Convenient bedsteads—A good mattress—A cheap

and convenient ottoman—Kitchen and stove-room—The stove-room and

its arrangements—Second or attic story—Closets, comer dressing-tables,

windows, balconies, water and earth-closets, shoe-bag, piece-bag—^Base-

ment, closets, refrigerator, washtubs, etc.—Laundry—General wood

, work—Conservatories—Average estimate of cost.—Pages 23-43.

CONTENTS.

A HEALTHFUL HOME.

Bouseliold murder—^Poisoning and etaivation tlie inevitable result of bad

air in public tails and private homes—Good air as needful as good

food—Structure and operations of tbe lungs and their capillaries and

air-cells—How people in a confined room will deprive the air of oxygen

and overload it with refuse carbonic acid—Starvation of the living

body deprived of oxygen—The skin and its twenty-eight miles of per-

spiratory tubes—Reciprocal action of plants and animals—Historical

examples of foul-air poisoning—Outward effects of habitual breathing

of bad air—Quotations from scientific authorities.—Pages 43-58.

rv.

BOIENTIFIG DOMESTIO VENTILATION.

An open fireplace secures due ventilation—Evils of substituting air-tight

stoves and furnace heating—Tendency of warm air to rifee and of cool

air to sink—Ventilation of mines—Ignorance of architects—Poor venti-

lation in most houses—Mode of ventilating laboratories—Creation of a

current of warm air in a flue open at top and bottom of the room—Flue

to be built into chimney : method of utilizing it.—Pages 59-65.

STOVES, FURNACES, AND CHIMNEYS.

The general properties of heat, conduction, convection, radiation, reflec-

tion—Cooking done by radiation the simplest but most wasteful mode

:

by convection '(as in stoves and furnaces) the cheapest—The range—Themodel cooking-stove—Interior arrangements and principles—Contrivan-

ces for economizing heat, labor, time, fuel, trouble, and expense—Its

durability, simplicity, etc.—Chimneys : why they smoke and how to

cure them—Furnaces : the dryness of their heat—Necessity of moisture

in warm air—How to obtain and regulate it.—Pages 66-83.

VI.

HOME DECOBATION.

Significance of beauty in making home attractive and useful in educatiop

—Exemplification of economical and tasteful furniture—The carpet

lounge, lambrequins, curtains, ottomans, easy-chair, centre-table—Money left for pictures—Chromes—Pretty frjimes—Engravings—Statu

ettes—Educatory influence of works of art—Natural adornments—Materials in the woods and fields—Parlor-gardens—Hanging baskets—Fernshields—Ivy, its beauty and tractableness—Window, with flowers, viaes

CONTjsjyrs. iii

and pretty plants—Rustic stand for flowers—Ward's case—How to makeit economically—Bowls and vases of rustic work for growing plants

—

Ferns, how and wlien to gather them—General remarks.—Pages84-103.

THE CABE OF HEALTH.

Importance of some knowledge of the body and its needs—Fearful re

sponsibility of entering upon domestic duties in ignorance—The fundamental vital principle—Cell-life—Wonders of the microscope— Cell-

multiplication—Constant interplay of decay and growth necessary to

life—The red and white cells of the blood—Secreting and converting

power—The nervous system—The brain and the nerves—Structural

arrangement and functions—The ganglionic system—The nervous fluid

—Necessity of properly apportioned exercise to nerves of sensation and

of motion—Evils of excessive or insufficient exercise—Equal develop-

ment of the whole.—Pages 104-113.

vm.

DOMESTIC EXEBOISE.

Connection of muscles and nerves—Microscopic cellular muscular fibre

—

Its mode of action—Dependence on the nerves of voluntary and involun-

tary motion—How exercise of muscles quickens circulation of the blood

which maintains all the processes of life—Dependence of equilibrium

upon proper muscular activity—Importance of securing exercise that

wiU interest the mind.—Pages llS-118.

IX.

HEALTHFUL FOOD.

Apportionment of elements in food : carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, calci-

um, iron, silicon, etc.—Lajge proportion of water in the human body

—

Dr. Holmes on the interchange of death and life—Constituent parts of a

kernel of wheat—Comparison of different kinds of food—General direc-

tions for diet—Hunger the proper guide and guard of appetite—Evils

of over-eating—Structure and operations of the stomach—Times and

quantity for eating—Stimulating and nourishing food—.Ajnericans eat

too much meat—Wholesome effects of Lenten fasting- Matter and

manner of eating—Causes of debilitation from misuse of food.—Pages

119-137.

IV CONTENTS.

HEALTHFUL DBINKS.

titimulatingf drinka not necessary—Their immediate evil effects upon

the human body and tendency to grow into habitual desires—The ar-

guments for and against stimulus—Microscopic revelations of the ef-

fects of alcohol on the cellular tissue of the brain—Opinions of high

scientific authorities against its use—No need of resorting to stimu-

lants either for refreshment, nourishment, or pleasure—Tea and coffee

an extensive cause of much nervous debility and suffering—Tend to

wasteful use in the kitchen—Are seldom agreeable at first to children

—Are dangerous to sensitive, nervous organizations, and should be at

least regulated—Hot drinks unwholesome, debilitating, and destructive

to teeth, throat, and stomach—Warm drinks agreeable and not un-

healthful—Cold drinks not to be too freely used during meals—Drink-

ing while eating always injurious to digestion.—Pages 138-149.

CLEANLINmS.

Health and comfort depend on cleanliness—Scientific treatment of the

skin, the most complicated organ of the body—Structure and arrange-

ment of the skin, its layers, cells, nerves, capillaries, absorbents, oil-

tubes, perspiration-tubes, etc.—The mucous membrane—Phlegm—Thesecreting organs—The liver, kidney, pancreas, salivary and lachrymalglands—Sympathetic connection of all the bodily organs—Intimate con-

nection of the skin with all the other organs—Proper mode of treating

the skin—Experiment showing happy effects of good treatment.—Pages 150-157.

0L0THIN9.

Fashion attacks the very foundation of the body, the bores Bones composed of animal and mineral elements—General construction and ar-

rangement—Health of bones dependent on nourishment and exercise ofbody—Spine—Distortions produced by tight dressing—Pressure of intenor organs upon each other and upon the bones—Displacement ofstomach,"' diaphragm, heart, intestines, and pelvic or lower organs Wo-men liable to peculiar distresses—A well-fitted jacket to replace stiff

corsets, supporting the bust above and the under skirts below-^DressIng of young children—Safe for a healthy child to wear as little cloth-

ing as will make it thoroughly comfortable—Nature the guide—The7ery young and the very old need the most clothing.—Pages 158-106

CONTENTS.

aOOD COOKING.

Bad cooking prevalent In America—Âbundance of excellent material

—General management of food here very wasteful and extravagant—^Five great departments of Cookery

—

Bread—What it should be,

how to spoil and how to make it—Different modes of aeration—Baking—Êvils of hot bread.

—

Butter'—ContTaat between the butter of Americaand of European countries—How to make good butter.

—

Meat—General-

ly used too newly killed—Lack of nicety in butcher's work—Economyof French butchery, carving, and trimmlng-r-Modes of cooking meats

—

The frying-pan—True way of using it—The French art of makingdelicious soups and stews

—

Vegetables—Their number and variety in

America—The potato—How to cook it, a simple yet diiJicult operation

—Boasted, boiled, fried.

—

Tea—Warm table drinks generally—Coffee

—Tea—Chocolate.

—

Gonfectionery—Ornamental cookery—Pastry, ices,

ieUies.—Pages 167-190.

XIV.

EARLY RISING.

A virtue peculiarly American and democratic—In aristocratic countries,

labor considered degrading—The hours of sunlight generally devoted to

labor by the working classes and to sleep by the indolent and wealthy

—

Sunlight necessary to health and growth whether of vegetables or ani-

mals—Particularly needful for the sick—Substitution of artificial

light and heat, by night, a great waste of money—Eight hours'

sleep enough—Excessive sleep debilitating—Early rising necessary to a

well-regulated family, to the amount of work to be done, to the commu-nity, to schools, and to all classes in American society.—Pages 191-196.

XV.

DOMEanO MANNERS.

Good manners the expression of benevolence in personal intercourse

—

Serious defects in manners of the Americans—Causes of abrupt manners

to be found in American life—Want of clear discrimination between

men —Necessity for distinctions of superiority : and subordination—Im-

portance that young mothers should seriously endeavor to remedy this

defect, while educating their children—Democratic principle of equal

rights to be applied, not to our own interests but to those of others

—

The same courtesy to be extended to all classes—Necessary distinctions

arising from mutual relations to be observed—The strong to defer to

the weak—Precedence yielded by men to women in America—Good

manners must be cultivated in early life—Mutual relations of husband

and wife—Parents and children—The rearing of children to courtesy

—

De Tocqueville on American manners.—Pages 197-211.

Va CONTENTS.

GOOD TEMPER IN THE HOUSEKEEPER,

Easier for a housfihold under the guidance of an equable temper in the

mistress—Dissatisfied looks and sharp tones destroy the comfort of

system, neatness, and economy—Considerations to aid the housekeeper

—Importance and dignity of her duties—Difficulties to be overcome

—

• Good policy to calculate beforehand upon the derangement of well-

arranged plans—Object of housekeeping, the comfort and well-being

of the family—The end should not be sacrificed to secure the means^Possible to refrain from angry tones—Mild speech most effective—Ex-

empUfication—Allowances to be made for servants and children—Power

of religion to impart dignity and importance to the ordinary and petty

details of domestic life.—Pages 312-219.

xvn.

HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER.

Relative importance and difficulty of the duties a woman is called to per-

form—Her duties not trivial—A habit of system and order necessary

—

Right apportionment of time—Genera] principles—Christianity to be the

foundation—Intellectual and social interests to be preferred to gratifica-

tion of taste or appetite—Neglect of health a sin in the sight of God

—

Regular season of rest appointed by the Creator—Divisions of time

—

Systematic arrangement <?f house articles and other conveniences

—

Regular employment for each mem1?ei- of a family—Children—Familywork—Forming habits of system—Early rising a very great aid

—

Due apportionment of time to the several duties.—Pages 220-233.

GIVING IN CHARITY.

No point of duty more difficult to fix by rule than charity—First consi-

deration—Object for which we are placed in this world—Self-denying

Benevolence.—Second consideration—Natural principles not to be ex-

terminated, but regulated and controlled.—Third consideration—Super-fluities sometimes proper, and sometimes not.—Fourth consideration

—No rule of duty right for one and not for aU—The opposite of this

principle tested—Some use of superfluities necessary—Plan for keepinwan account of necessities and superfluities—Untoward results of ouractions do not always prove that we deserve blame—General princi-

ples to guide in deciding upon objects of charity—Who are our neigh-bors—The most in need to be first relieved—Not much need of charityfor physical wants in this country—Associated charities—Indiscrimi-

nate charity—Impropriety of judging the charities of others —Pages233-246.

CONTENTS. yh

eCONOMT OF TIME AND MXPEN8ES.

Econouy, value, and right apportionment of time— Laws appointed

by God lor the Jews—Christianity removes the restrictions laid on the

Jews, but demands all our time to he devoted to our own best interests

and tho good of our fellow-men—Enjoyment connected with every

duty—Various modes of economizing time—System and order—Unit-

ing several objects in one employment—Odd intervals of time—Aiding

others in economizing time—Economy in expenses—Contradictory no-

tions—General principles in which all agree—Knowledge of income

and expenses—Evils of want of system and forethought—Young ladies

should early learn to be systematic and economical.-r-Pages 247-2f)4.

EEALTH OF MIND.

Intimate connection between the body and mind—Brain excited by im-

proper stimulants taken into the stomach—Mental faculties then affect-

ed—Causes of mental disease—Want of oxygenized blood—Fresh air

absolutely necessary—Excessive exercise of the intellect or feelings

—

Such attention to religion as prevents the performance of other duties,

wrong—Unusual precocity in children usually the result of a diseased

brain—Idiocy often the result, or the precocious child sinks below the

average of mankind—This evil yet prevalent in colleges and other semi-

naries—A medical man necessary in every seminary—Some pupils

always needing restraint in regard to study—A third cause of mental

disease, the want of appropriate exercise of the various faculties of the

mind—Extract from Dr. Combe— Beneficial results of active intellectual

employments—Indications of a diseased mind.—Pages 255-262.

THE CARE OF INFANTS.

Herbert Spencer on the treatment of offspring—Absurdity of undertak-

ing to rear children without any knowledge of how to do it—Foolish

management of parents generally the cause of evils ascribed to Provi-

dence—Errors of management during the first two years—Food of child

and of mother—Warning as to use of too much medicine—Fresh air-

Care of the skin—Dress—Sleep—Bathing—Change of air—ffabits—

Dangers of the teething period—Constipation—Diarrhea—Teething-

How to relieve its dangers—Feverishness—Use of water.—Pages 363-

274.

VIU CONTENTS.

xxn.

TffW MANAGEMENT OF TOUNO CHILDREN.

Physical education of cliildren—Animal diet to be avoided for the very

young—Result of treatment at Albany Orphan Asylum—Good ventila^

tion of nurseries and schools—Moral training to consist in forming

habits of submission, self-denial, and benevolence—General suggestions

—Extremes of sternness and laxity to be avoided—Appreciation of

childish desires and feelings—Sympathy—Partaking in games ami

employments—Inculcation of principles preferable to multiplication of

commands—Rewards rather than penalties—Severe tones of voice-

Children to be kept happy—Sensitive children—Self-denial—Deceit

and honesty—Immodesty and delicacy—Dreadful penalties consequent

upon youthful impurities—Religious training.—Pages 275-286.

DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS AND SOCIAL DUTIES.

Children need more amusement than older persons—Itsobject, to aflFord rest,

and recreation to the mind and body—Example of Christ—No amuse-ments to be introduced that will tempt the weak or over-excite theyoung—Puritan customs—Work followed by play—Dramatic exercises,

daucing,andfe^vity wholesomely enjoyed—The nine o'clock bell—Thedrama and the dance—Card-playing—Novel-reading—Taste for solid

reading—Cultivation of fruits and flowers-Music—Collecting of sheila,

plants, and minerals—GamesÊxercise of mechanical skill for boysSewing, cutting, and fitting—General suggestions—Social and domesticduties—Family attachments—Hospitality.—Pages 287-302.

xxrv.

CARE OF THE AGED.

Preservation of the aged, designed to give opportunity for self-denial ancloving oare—Patience, sympathy, and labor for them to be regarded aeprivileges in a family—The young should respect and minister untothe aged—Treating them as valued members of the family—Engagingthem in domestic games and sports—Reading aloud—Courteous attention to their opinions—Assistance in retarding decay of faculties bjhelping them to exercise—Keeping up interest of the infirm in domesticpflaira—Great care to preserve animal heat—Ingratitude to the aged,itb baseness—Chinese regard for old age.—Pages 303-306.

CONTENTS.

THE GARB OF SERVANTS.Origin of the Yankee term " help "—Days of good health and intelli-

gent house-keeping—Growth of wealth tends to multiply hired service

—American young women should be trainied in housekeeping for the

guidance of ignorant and shiftless servants—DieSculty of teaching ser-

vants—Reaction of society in favor of women's intellectuality, in

danger of causing a new reaction—American girls should do morework—Social estimate of domestic service—Dearth of intelligent domestic help—Proper mode of treating servants—General rules ano

special suggestions— Hints from experience—Woman's first " right,"

liberty to do what she can—Domestic duties not to be neglected for

operations in other spheres—Servants to be treated vrith respect—Er-

rors of heartless and of too indulgent employers—^Mistresses of American families necessarily missionaries and instructors.—Pages 307-334

CARE OF THE SICK.

Prominence given to care and cure of the sick by our Saviour—Every

woman should know what to do in the case of illness—Simple remedies

best—Fasting and perspiration — Evils of constipation—Modes of re-

lieving it—Remedies for colds—Unvrise to tempt the appetite of the sick

—Suggestion for the sick-room—Ventilation—Needful articles—Theroom, bed, and person ofthe patient to be kept neat—Care to preserve ani-

mal warmth—The sick, the delicate, the aged—Food always to be care-

fully prepared and neatly served—Little modes of refreshment—Im-

plicit obedience to the physician—Care in purchasing medicLneSt—Ex-

hibition of cheerfulness, gentleness, and sympathy—Knowledge and ex-

perience of mind—Lack of competent nurses— Failings of nurses—Sensitiveness of the sick—" Sisters of Charity," the reason why they

are such excellent nurses—Illness in the family a providential oppor-

tunity of training children to love and usefulness.—Pages 385-347.

ACOIDENTB AND ANTIDOTES.

Mode of treating cuts, wounds, severed arteries—Bad bruises to be bathed

in hot water—Sprains treated with hot fomentation and rest—Burns

cured by creosote, wood-soot, or flour—Drowning ; most approved mode

of treatment—^Poisons and their antidotes—Soda, saleratus, potash,

sulphuric or oxalic acid, lime or baryta, iodine or iodide of potassium,

prussic acid, antimony, arsenic, lead, nitrate of silver, phosphorus, alco-

hol, tobacco, opium, strychnia—Bleediijg at the lungs, stomach, throat,

nose—Accidents from lightning— Stupefaction, from coal-gas or foul

air—Fire—Fainting—Coolness and presence of mind.—Pages 348-352

X CONTENTS.

XXVlll.

SEWING, CUTTING, AND MENDING.

Different kinds of Stitct—Overstitch—Hems—Tucks—Fells—Gores-

Buttonholes—WMpping—Gathering—Darning— Basting— Sewing—Work-taskets—To make a frock—Patterns—Fitting—Lining—Thiu

Silks—Figured and plain sUks—Plaids—Stripes—Linen and Cotton

—

How to buy—Shirts—Chemises—Night-gowns—TJnder-skrrts—Mend-

ing—Silk dresses—Broadcloth—Hose—Shoes, etc.—Bedding—^Mattres-

ses—Sheeting—Bed-linen.—Pages 353-359.

FIREa AND LIGHTS.

Woodfires—Shallow fireplaces—Utensils—The best wood for fires—Howto measure a load—Splitting apd piling—Ashes—Cleaning up—Stoves

and grates—^Ventilation—Moisture—Stove-pipe thimbles—Anthracite

coal—Bituminous coal—Care to be used in erecting stoves and pipes

—

Lights—Poor economy to use bad light—Gas—Oil—Kerosene—Points

to be considered : Steadiness, Color, Heat—Argand burners—Dangers of

kerosene—Tests of its safety and light-giving qualities—Care of lamps—Utensils needed—Shades—Night-lamps—How to make candles

—

Moulded—Dipped—Rush-lights.—Pages 360-366.

XXX.

THE GAME OF BOOMS.

Parlors—Cleansing—Furniture—Pictures—Hearths and jambs—Stains in

marble—Carpets—Chambers and bedrooms—Ventilation—How to makea bed properly—Servants should have single beds and comfortablerooms—Kitchens—Light—Air—Cleanliness—How to make a cheap oil-

cloth—The sink—Washing dishes—Kitchen furniture-7-Crockery

Ironware—Tinware—^Basketware—Other articles—Closets— Cellars—Dryness and cleanliness imperative necessities—Store-rooms—Modes of

destroying insects and vermin.—Pages 367-878.

THE OABE OP YARDS AND GARDENS.

Preparation of soil for pot-plants—For hol^beds—For planting flowerseeds—For garden seeds—Transplanting—To re-pot house plants Thelaying out of yards and gardens—Transplanting tree^^The care of

house plants.-^Pages 879-383.

CONTENTS.xi

XXXII.

THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS.Propagation of bulbous roots—Propagation of plants by shoots—By lay-

ers—Budding and grafting—The ojiter and inner bark—Detailed de-

scription of operations— Seed-fruit—Stone-fruit—Rose bushes—In-grafting—Stock grafting—Pruning—Perpendicular shoots to be taken

out, horizontal or curved shoots retained—All fruit-buds coming out

after midsummer to be rubbed oflf—Suckers—Pruning to be done after

sap is in circulation—Thinning—Leaves to be removed when they

shade fruit near maturity—Pruit to be removed when too abundant for

good quality—How to judge.—Pages 384-388.

XXXIII.

THE CULTIVATION OF FRUIT.

A pleasant, easy, and profitable occupation—Soil for a nursery—Plant-

ing of seeds-^Transplanting—Pruning—Filberts—Pigs— Currants

—

Gooseberries—Raspberries— Strawberries—Grapes—Modes of pre-

serving fruit trees—The yellQws—Moths— Caterpillars—BrQlure—

Curculio— Canker-worm.—Pages 389-392.

XXXIT.

THE CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS.Interesting association of animals with man, from childhood to age

—

Domestic animals apt to catch the spirit of their masters—Important

necessities—Good feeding— Shelter—Cleanliness—Destruction of par-

asitic vermin— Salt and water—Light—Exercise—Rule for breeding

—Care of Horses : feeding, grooming, special treatment—Cows : stab-

ling, feed, calving, milking, tethering— Swine : naturally cleanly,

breeding, fresh water, charcoal, feeding—Sheep : winter treatment

—

Diet— Sorting—Use of sheep in clearing land—Pasture—Hedges and

fences—Poultry—Turkeys—Geese—Ducks—Powls—Dairy work gen-

erally—Bees—Care of domestic animals, occupation for women.

—

Pages 393-402.

XXXV.

EARTH-CLOSETS.

Deodorization and preservation of excrementitious matter—The earth-

closet—Waring's pamphlet—The agricultural argument—Necessity of

returning to the soil the elements taken from it—Earth-closet based on

power of clay and inorganic matter to absorb and retain odors and fer-

tilizing matter—Its construction—Mode of use—The ordinary privy—

The commode or portable house-privy— Especial directions : things to

be observed—Repeated use of earth- Other advantages— Sick-rooms

^House-labor— Cleanliness—Economy,—Pages 403-418.

di CONTMNTS.

XXXVl.

WABMINO AND VENTILATION.

3peii fireplace nearest to natural mode by which earth is wanned and

ventilated—Origin of diseases—Necessity of pure air to life- Statistics

—General principles of ventilation—Mode of Lewis Leeds—Ventilation

of buildings planned in this work—The pure-air conductor—The foul-

air exhausting-flue—Stoves—Detailed airangements—Warming—Econ-

omy of time, labor, and expense in the cottage plan—After aU schemes,

the open fireplace the best.—Pages 419-432.

PAET II.

I.

HEALTH, EGONOMT, AND PLEASURE IN FOOD.

Special advantages of Part II.—Rules of health in regard to food and

drink—Measures used in cooking.—Pages 433-435.

II.

MAREETINQ AND THE OARE OF MEATS.

Vlarketing—Beef—Different " cuts," etc.—Veal—Mutton—Pork—Poultry

—Fish—Shell-fish—Care of meats—To salt down beef—To cleanse calfs

head and feet—To prepare rennet—To salt down fish—To try out lard

—Molasses-cured hams—Brine for corning hams, beef, pork, etc.—Ano-

ther—Brine by measure—To salt down pork—To prepare cases for

sausages—Sausage meat—Another recipe—Bologna sausages—To

smoke hams.—Pages 436-445.

in.

STEWS AND SOUPS.

New soup- and stew-kettle—General directions—Stews : of Beef and po-

tato ; Mutton and turnip, (French ;) Simple mutton ; Beef, with vege-

table flavors ;Fowl, with celery or tomatoes—Irish stew—Veal stew

—

Another—Pilaff (Turkish)—Rice or hominy stew—English beef stew

—

Pot au Feu (French)—OUa Podrida (Spanish)—French mutton stew

—

French modes of cooking—Flavors—Soup powder.—Pages 446-452.

CONTENTS. xiii

IV.

SOUPS.

General directions—Soup stock—Soup of potato—Plain beef—Rich beef—Grreen pea—Dried beau or pea—Clam—Vegetable and meat for sum-mer—Dried pea, with salt pork—Dried beau or pea, with meat stock

—

Mutton—Vegetable (French)—Plain calfs head—Simple mutton.Pages 453-456.

T.

HASHES.

Four ways of spoiling hashes—Hashes : of Fresh meats, seasoned ; Cold

fresh meats and potatoes ; Meat, with eggs ; Meat, with tomatoes

;

Beef ; Veal ; Rice and cold meats ; Bread-crumbs and cold meats

;

Another ; Cold beefsteak ; Same, with potatoes and turnips ; Cold mut-

ton or venison ; Corned beef; Cold ham—Meats warmed over—To cook

cSld meats—Cold meat hash—Souse—Tripe.—Pages 457-460.

TI.

BOILED MEATS.

To cook tough beef—Boiled ham—Beef—Fowls—Fricasseed fowls—Toboil leg or shoulder of veal, mutton, or lamb—Calf's feet—Calfs liver

and sweet-breads—Kidneys—Pillau—Smoked tongue—Corned beef

—

Partridges or pigeons—Ducks—Turkey.—Pages 461-463.

vir.

BOAST AND BAKED MEATS.

The best beef—Brown flour for gravies—Roast beef—To roast in a cook-

stove—Roast pork ; Mutton ; Veal ; Poultry—Pot-pie of beef, veal, or

chicken—Mutton and beef-pie—Chicken-pie—Rice chicken-pie—^Potato-

pie—Calfs head.—Pages 464^467.

vni.

BROILED AND FRIED MEATS AND RELISHES.

Boiled mutton or lamb chops ; Beefsteak ; Fresh pork ; Ham ; Sweet-

breads ; Veal—Pork relish—Frying—Calfs or pig's liver—Beef liver

—

Egg omelet—Frizzled beef—Veal chase—Codfish relish—Another

—

Salt herrings.—Pages 468-469.

IX.

PICKLES .

General directions—Sweet pickles—To pickle Tomatoes ; Peaches ; Pep-

pers ; Nasturtions ; Onions ; Gherkins ; Mushrooms ; Cucumbers ; Wal-

:iv CONTENTS.

nuts ; Mangoes ; Cabbage—To prepare tomatoes for eating—Martinoes

—Spiced cucumber pickles—Indiana pickles—Cauliflower or broccoli.

—

Pages 470-473.

SAUCES AND SALADS.

Milk and egg sauce—Drawn butter—Mint sauce—Cranberry sauce—Ap-

ple sauce—Walnut or butternut catsup—Mock capers—Salad dressing

—Turkey or chicken salad—Lettuce salad—Tomato catsup.—Pages

474r475.

XI.

FISH.

Oysters, stewed ; Fried ; Scalloped ; Broiled—Oyster fritters—Oyster ome-

let—Pickled oysters—Roast oysters—Scallops—Clams—Clam cbowder

—Fish, boiled ; Broiled ; Baked—Pickle for cold fisli—Pages 476-477.

xir.

VEQETABLES.

General remarks—Potatoes—Old potatoes—Potato puffs—Sweet-potatoes

—Green corn—Succotash—Oyster-plant or salsify—Egg-plant—Carrots

—Beets—Parsnips—Pumpkin and squash—Celery—Kadishes—Onions

—Tomatoes—Cucumbers—Cabbage and cauliflower—Aspaiagus—Ma-caroni.—Pages 478-481.

XIII.

FAMILY BREAD.

General remarks—Fine and unbolted flour—^Middlings—Ejieadino-

Yeast : Hop and potato ; Potato ; Hard—Bread : of fine flour ; Of mid-dling or unbolted flour ; Raised with water ; Rye and Indian ; Third

;

Rye; Oat-meal, Pumpkin; Apple; Corn-meal—Sweet rolls of corn-meal—Soda biscuit—^Yeast biscuit—^Potato biscuit—Buns. Pages 483-487.

xrv.

BREAKFAST AND SUPPER.

General supplies—Receipts for corn-meal—Hominy—Rice Economicalbreakfast dish—Biscuits of sour milk and flour—Pearl or cracked wheat—Rye and com meal—Oat-meal—Wheat muffins—Sally Lunn improved—Cream griddle-cakes—Royal crumpets—Muffins—"Waffles—Drop-cakes—Sachem's head corn-cake—Rice waffles—A rice dish—To use cold rice-Buckwheat cakes—Cottage cheese—Êggs.—^Pages 488-492.

CONTENTS. XV

XT.

PUDBINQ8 ANi) PIES.

Sweet food, remarks—Queen of all puddings—Flour pudding—Flour and

fruit pudding—Rusk and milk—Rusk pudding—^Meat and rusk pud-

ding—A good pudding—^Pan dowdy—Corn-meal pop-over—Best apple-

pie—Puddings : of rice ; Bread and fruit ; Boiled fruit ; Curds (English)

—Common apple-pie—Plain custard—Another—Mush or hasty pud-

ding—Stale bread pudding—Rennet wine—Rennet custard—Bird's

nest pudding—Minute pudding of potato starch—Tapioca pudding

—

Cocoa-nut pudding—New-England squash or pumpkin-pie—Ripe fruit

pies. Peach, Cherry, Plum, Currants, and Strawberry—Mock cream

—

Pudding of bread-crumbs and fruit—Bread and apple dumplings—In-

dian pudding without eggs—Boiled Indian and suet pudding—Dessert

of rice and fruit—Another—Cold rice and stewed or grated apple

—

Rich flour pudding—Apple-pie—Spiced apple-tarts—^Baked Indian pud-

ding—Apple custard—Macaroni or vermicelli pudding—Green-corn

pudding—Bread pudding for invalids or young children—A good pud-

ding—Loaf pudding—Lemon pudding—Green-corn patties—Cracker

plum-pudding—Sauces for puddings, liquid—Hard—Another—

A

healthful sauce—Universal sauce—^Paste for puddings and pies—Pie-

crusts, without fats ; Made with butter, very rich.—^Pages 493-503.

XVI.

C A K E.

General directions

—

Oalke raised with powders—One, two, three, four cake

—Chocolate ; Jelly ; Orange ; Almond and obcoa-nut--CaA;e raised with

eggs—Pound cake ; Plain ; Fruit ; Huckleberry ; Gold and silver ; Rich

sponge ; Plain sponge—Gingerbread, etc.—Âunt Esther's ginger-

bread—Sponge gingerbread—Ginger snaps—Seed cookies—Fried

cakes

—

Cakes raised witli yeast—Plain loaf-cake—Rich loafcake

—

Dough-cake—Icing for cake.—Pages 504-508.

XVTI.

PBE8ERVES AND JELLIES.

General directions—Canned fruit—To clarify syrups for sweetmeats

—

Brandy peaches—Peaches (not very rich)—Peaches (elegant)—Topreserve quinces whole—Quince jelly—Calffoot jelly—To preserve ap-

ples—Pears—Pine-apples—Purple plums. No. 1 and No. 3—White or

green plums—Citron melons—Strawberries—Blackberryjam—Currantsto eat with meat—.Cherries—Currants—Raspberry jam, No. 1 and No.

3—Currant jelly—Quince marmalade—Water-melon rinds—Preserved

> pumpkin.—Pages 509-514.

CONTENTS.

DESSERTS AND EVENINQ PARTIES.

Ice-cream—Strawberry ice-cream—Ice-cream witliout cream—Fruit ice-

cream—A cream for stewed fruit—Currant, raspberry, or strawberry

wHsk—Lemonade—Ice and other ices—Charlotte Russe—Flummery

—Chicten salad—Wine jelly—Apple-lemon pudding—Wheat-flour

blanc-mange—Orange marmalade—Simple lemon jelly—Cranberry

—

Apple ice—Whip syllabub—Apple-snow—Iced fruit—Ornamental froth

—To clarify isinglass—Blanc-mange—Apple jelly—Orange jelly

—

Floating island—A dish of snow—To clarify sugar—Candied fruits

—

Another way—Ornamental pyramid.—Pages 515-519.

XIX.

DRINKS AND ARTICLES FOR THE SICK AND YOUNGCHILDREN.

Tea—Coffee—Fish-skin for coffee—Cocoa—Cream for coffee and tea

—

Chocolate—Milk lemonade—Strawberry and raspberry vinegar—Whitetea and Boys' coffee—Dangerous use of milk—Simple drinks—Simple

wine whey—Toast and cider—Panada—Water-gruel—Beef-tea—Toma-

to syrup—Sassafras jelly—Egg-tea, egg-coffee, and egg-milk—Oat-meal

gruel—Pearl barley-water—Cream-tartar beverage—Eennet whey—

A

fever drink—Food, etc., for infants.—Pages 520-533.

XX.

THE PROVIDING AND CARE OF FAMILY STORES.

The art of keeping a good table—Successive variety—Doing every thing

in the best manner—Stores and store-rooms—Flour—Unbolted flour

—

Indian-meal—Eye—Buckwheat— Rice—Hominy— Arrow-root— Ta-

pioca, etc.—Sugars—Butter—Lard and drippings—Salt—Vinegar—Oil

—Molasses—Hard Soap—Starch—Indigo—Coffee—Têa—Soda—Raisins

—Currants—Lemon and orange peel—Spices—Sweet herbs—Cream-tar-

tar—Acids—Essences, etc.—Preserves and jellies—Hams—Cheese

—

Bread—Cake—Codfish—Salted provisions.—Pages 534-529.

XXI.

SETTING TABLES, PREPARATION OF FOOD.

Table-cloth—Napkins—Table furniture—Bread—Butter—Dishes—Soiled

spots—Plates to be warmed in winter—Certain dishes served together—Strong flavored meats—Boiled poultry-êlly—Fresh pork Drawnbutter—Pickles—Garnishing dishes—Boiled ham or veal—Greens andasparagus—Hashes—Curled parsley—Mode of setting table.—Pages530-533.

CONTENTS. xvii

WASMINQ, IRONING, AND CLEANING.

Modes of economizing tlie wasli—Good wasMng depends on conveniences

—Articles needed—Common mode of washing—Fine clothes—Whiteardcles—Colored articles—Flannels—Bedding—Calicoes—Waters, etc.

—To cleanse broadcloth—To make lye—Soft soap—Potash soap—Toprepare starch—Beefs gall—To do up laces—Articles needed for iron-

ing—Sprinkling, folding, and ironing—To whiten articles and removestains—Mildew—Stain-mixture—Another—To remove grease, tar,

pitch, turpentine, lamp-oil, oil-paint, ink-stains, stains on varnished

articles—To clean silk handkerchiefs and ribbons—To clean silk hose

or gloves.—Pages 533-542.

MI8CBLLANE0U8 ADVICE AND MECIPES.

How to keep cool iii hot weather—Indelible ink^To keep eggs—To pre-

vent earthen, glass, and iron-ware from breaking easily—Cement for

broken ware—To keep knives from rust—To cleanse or renovat? furni-

ture—To clean silver—To cleanse wall-paper—To purify a well—Totake care of roses and other plants—To keep grapes—Snow for eggs

—

Paper to keep preserves—To cool butter in hot weather—To stop cracks

in iron—To stop creaking hinges—To stop creaking doors and makedrawers slide easily—To renovate black silk—To clean kid gloves—Toremove grease spots—To get rid of rats and mice—Odds and ends for

housekeepers.—Pages 548-546.

XXIT.

TSE LAWS OF BEALTH AND HAPPINESS.

Laws of health : for the Bones ; Muscles ; Lungs ; Digestive organs

;

Skin ; Teeth, eyes, and hair ; Brain and nerves.—^Pages 547-551.

ADDRESS OF THE SENIOR AUTHOR.

To housekeepers, mothers, and teachers—What God made woman for

—

The author's early training, ruin of health, recovery, experience—Wo-

men to train their own children to health and happiness, wholesome

labor, and intelligent direction of servants.—Pages 553-553.

GLOSSARY OF WORDS AND REFERENCES.—Pages 555-573.

ANALYTICAL INDEX.—Pages 575-591.

NEW YORKJ.B.FORD fcCO.

1373.

THE HOUSEKEEPEE'S MAISÛAL.

Part I.

THE AMERICAN WOMAN'S HOME.

The authors of this volume, while they sympathize with

every honest effort to relieve the disabilities and sufferings

of their sex, are confident that the chief cause of these evils

is the fact that the honor and duties of the family state are

not duly appreciated, that women are not trained for these

duties as men are trained for their trades and professions,

and that, as the consequence, family labor is poorly done,

poorly paid, and regarded as menial and disgraceful.

To be the nurse of young children, a cook, or a house-

maid, is regarded as the lowest and last resort of poverty,

and one which no woman of culture and position can as-

sume without loss of caste and respectability.

It is the aim of this volume to elevate both the honor

and the remuneration of all the employments that sustain

the many difficult and sacred duties of the family state,

and thus to render each department of woman's true pro-

fession as much desired and respected as are the most

honored professions of men.

The following will show, though very imperfectly, howmany branches of science and training are included in

woman's profession, and thus what needs to be attempted :

First, the department of a housekeeper demands some

knowledge of all the arts and sciences connected with the

proper construction of a family dwelling. A widow, or a

woman whose husband has not time or ability to direct.

Missing Page

Missing Page

Missing Page

Missing Page

Missing Page

Missing Page

Missing Page

Missing Page

Missing Page

Missing Page

Missing Page

Missing Page

14 TSE HOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

and in communities destitute of intelligent artisans, on

building a house would need tlie guidance of the leading

principles of architecture, pneumatics, hydrostatics, caloric

fication, and several other connected sciences, in order to

secure architectural beauty, healthful heating and ventila-

tion, and the economical and convenient arrangements for

labor and comfort. A housekeeper properly instructed in

these principles would know how to secure chimneys that

will not smoke, the most economical furnaces and stoves,

and those that will be sure to " draw." She would knowhow dampers and air-boxes should be placed and regulated,

how to prevent or remedy gas escapes, leaking water-pipes,

poisonous recession of sewers, slamming shutters, bells that

will not ring, blinds that will not fasten, and doors that

will not lock or catch. She will understand about ball-

cocks, and high and low pressure on water-pipes andboilers, and many other mysteries which make a womanthe helpless victim of plumbers and other jobbers often as

blundering and ignorant as herself. She would knowwhat kind of wood-work saves labor, how to prevent its

shrinkage, when to use paint, and what kind is best, andmany other details of knowledge needed in circumstances

to which any daughter of wealth is liable : knowledgewhich could be gained with less time and labor than is nowgiven in public schools to geometry and algebra.

On supposition of a ya/rd and garden, with young boysand domestic animals under her care, she would need thefirst principles of landscape gardening, floriculture, horti-

culture, fruit culture, and agriculture ; also, the fitting andfurnishing of accommodations and provision for domesticanimals. And to gain this knowledge would demand less

time than young girls often give to picking pretty flowersto pieces and saying hard names over them, or storingthem in herbariums never used. And yet botany might beso taught as to be practically useful.

Next, in seUctfmg fwniture, a woman so instructed

TRB DUTIMS OF WOMAN'S PMOFESSWN. 15

would know when glue and nails are improperly used in-

stead of the needed dovetailing and mortising. She wouldknow when drawers, tables, and chairs were properly made,and when brooms, pots, saucepans, and coal-scuttles wouldlast well and do proper service. She would know the best

colors and materials for carpets, curtains, bed and house

linen, and numerous other practical details as easily learned

as the construction of " bivalves" and " multivalves," and

other particulars in natural history now studied, and, being

of no practical use, speedily forgotten.

Next, in the ornainentation of a house, she will need the

general principles that guide in the making or selection of

,

pictures, statuary, in drawing, painting, music, and all the

fine arts that render a home so beautiful and attractive.

]!Text comes all involved in the cleam-smg, neatness, and

order of houses filled with sofas, ottomans, curtains, pic-

tures, musical instruments, and all the varied collection of

beautiful and frail ornaments or curiosities so common.

Every girl should be taught to know the right and the

wrong way of protecting or cleansing every article, from

the rich picture-frames and frescoes to the humblest crock-

ery and stew-pan. And this would include much scientific

knowledge as well as practical training.

Next comes the selection of healthful food, the proper

care of it, and the most economical and suitable modes of

cooking. Here are demanded the first principles of physio-

logy, animal chemistry, and domestic hygiene, with the

practical applications. Thus instructed, the housekeeper

will know the good or bad condition of meats, milk, bread,

butter, and all groceries. And a class could be taken to a

market or grocery for illustration as easily as to a museum or

the field for illustrations of mineralogy or botany. All this

should be done before a young girl has the heavy responsi-

bilities of housekeeper, wife, mother, and nurse. The art

of cookery, in all its departments, has received, more atten-

tion than any other domestic duty in former days ;but at

16 THE HOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

the present time "no systematic mode is devised for training

a 3'oung girl to superintend and instruct servants in this

complicated duty, on which the health and comfort of a

family so much depend.

Next, in providing family clothvng and in the care of

household stuffs, she will know how to do, and to teach in

the best manner plain sewing, hemming, darning, mend-

ing, and the \ise of a sewing-machine, thus cultivating in-

genuity, dexterity, and common sense in judging the best

way of doing things and deciding what is worth doing and '

what is not. She will exercise good taste and good judg-

ment in dress for herself and family, in the selection of

materials, in the adaptation of colors and fashion to age,

shape and employments, and in the avoidance of unhealth-

ful and absurd fashions ; and she will have such knowledgeof domestic chemistry as is needed in the cleansing, dyeing,

and preservation of household clothing and stuffs.

Next comes all involved in the care of health. This

again involves the first principles of animal and domestic

chemistry, hydrostatics, pneumatics, caloric, light, electri-

city, and especially hygiene and therapeutics. A house-keeper instructed in these will have pure water, pure air,

much sunlight, beds and clothes well cleansed, everyarrangement for cleanliness and comfort, and all that

tends to prevent disease or retard its first approaches. ,

And her knowledge and skill she will transmit to thechildren and servants under her care, while the dumb ani-mals of her establishment will share in the blessings se-

cured by her scientific knowledge and trained skill.

Next comes the care oifamily expenses in all depart-ments of economy, and in which science and training arealso demanded : to this add the enforcement of system andorder, hospitalities to relatives, friends, and the homeless,the claims of society as to calls, social gatherings, the sick,the poor, benevolent associations, school and religiousduties.

TBE DUTIES OF WOMAN''S PROFESSION. 17

JSTot the least of the onerous duties of a housekeeper is

the training and government of servants of all kinds of

dispositions, habits, nationalities, and religions.

AU.these multiplied and diverse duties are demanded of

every woman, whether married or single, who becomesmistress of a house.

The distinctive duties of wife and mother are such that

both science and training are of the greatest consequence

and a dreadful amount of suffering has resulted from wantof such proper instruction. One of the most important of

these duties is the care of new-born infants and their

mothers. Thousands of young infants perish and youngmothers are made sufferers for life for want of science andtraining in the mothers and monthly nurses.

Then the helpers in the nursery have a daily control of

the safety, health, temper, and morals of young children

;

and a conscientious, careful, affectionate woman, instructed

in the care of health and remedies for sudden accidents, is

a rare treasure. These arduous duties are now extensively

given to the inexperienced and the ignorant. It is a

mournful fact that more science and care are given byprofessional trainers to the offsprin'g of horses, cows, sheep,

and hogs, than to the larger portion of children ofthe Ameri-

can people. Thus comes the fact that the mortality of the

human offspring greatly exceeds that of the lower animals.

The most difficult and important duties of a woman are

those of an educator in the family and the school. In the

nursery, children are taught the care of their bodies, the

use of language, the nature and properties of the world

around them, and many social and moral duties, all before

books are used. Then it is a mother's duty to select the

school-teacher, and so to supervise, that health and intellec-

tual training shall be duly secured. To this add the duties

of training and controlling the helpers in the nursery and

kitchen, and to a housekeeper and mother the duties of an

educator stand first on the roll of responsibiUties.

18 THE HOUSEKEEPMR'S MANUAL.

It is the conceded office of the school-teacher to con-

duct intellectual and literary training ; but a woman in

this position has also extensive control of the health, th^

habits, the opinions, and the moral character of her pupils,

and often supplies deficient parental influences to an extent

little realized. For this department of woman's profession

more has been accomplished in preparing for future duties

than in any other.

It is for want of facilities for the proper scientific train-

ing of women for these multiform duties that they are so

generally not educated to be healthy, nor economical, or

industrious, or properly qualified to be happy wives, or to

train children and servants, or to preserve health in

families and schools, or to practice a wise economy in the

various departments of the family state. It is for want of

such scientific training that the most important duties of

the family, being disgraced and undervalued, are forsaken

by the cultivated and refined, and, passing to the unskilled

and vulgar, secure neither honorable social position nor

liberal rewards. The poorest teacher of music, drawing, or

French has higher position and reward than those whoperform the most scientific, sacred, and difficult duties of

the family state.

The true remedy for this state of things is to provide as

liberally for the scientific training of woman for her pro-

fession as men have provided for theirs. A wide-spread

attempt is organizing for the establishment of an institu-

tion to cover this very ground of educating woman for

the specific duties of her profession. But there are

many thousands who are already beyond the reach of

such instruction, and thousands of others who could never

avail themselves of it ; and certain it is, that a gathering

together, in a compact volume like the present one, of

many facts and ideas bearing upon these all-important

topics, will be of great advantage to readers, especially in

remote districts, far from the conveniences of cities.

THE DUTIES OF WOMAN^S PROFESSION. 19

With such motives has this book been made, and it is

hoped that its usefulness may be proved in many anAmerican woman's home.

Jesus Christ worked with his hands nearly thirty years,

and preached less than three. And he taught that his

kingdom is exactly opposite to that of the world, where all

are striving for the highest positions. " "Whoso will begreat shall be your minister, and whoso will be chiefest

shall be servant of all."

The family state is the aptest eatthly illustration of the

heavenly kingdom, and in it woman is its chief minister.

Her great mission is self-denial, in training its members to

self-sacrificing labors for the ignorant and weak : if not her

own children, then the neglected children of her Father in

heaven. She is to rear all under her care to lay up trea-

sures, not on earth, but in heaven. All the pleasures of

this life end here ; but those who train immortal minds are

to reap the fruit of their labor through eternal ages.

To man is appointed the outdoor labor—to till the earth,

dig the mines, toil in the foundries, traverse the ocean,

transport merchandise, labor in manufactories, construct

houses, conduct civil, municipal, and state affairs, and all

the heavy work, which, most of the day, excludes him from

the comforts of a home. But the great stimulus to all

these toils, implanted in the heart of every true man, is

the desire for a home of his own, and the hopes of pater-

nity. Every man who truly lives for immortality responds

to the beatitude, " Children are a heritage from the Lord

:

blessed is the man that hath his quiver full of them !"

The more a father and mother live under the influence of

that "immortality which Christ hath brought to light,"

the more is the blessedness of rearing a family understood

and appreciated. Every child trained aright is to dwell

forever in exalted bliss with those that gave it life and

trained it for heaven.


The blessed privileges of the family state are not con-

fined to those who rear children of their own. Any wo-

man who can earn a livelihood, as every woman should be

trained to do, can take a properly qualified female asso-

ciate, and institute a family of her own, receiving to its

heavenly influences the orphan, the sick, the homeless,

and the sinful, and by motherly devotion train them to

foUow the self-denying example of Christ, in educating

his earthly children for true happiaess in this life and foi*

his eternal home.

And such is the blessedness of aiding to sustain a truly

Christian home, that no one comes so near the pattern of

the All-perfect One as those who might hold what men call

a higher place, and yet humble themselves to the lowest in

order to aid in training the young, " not as men-pleasers,

but as servants to Christ, with good-will doing service as

to the Lord, and not to men." Such are preparing for

high places in the kingdom of heaven. " Whosoever will

be chiefest among you, let him be your servant."

It is often the case that the true humility of Christ is

not understood. It was not in having a low opinion of his

own character and claims, but it was in taking a low place

in order to raise others to a higher. The worldling seeks

to raise himself and family to an equality with others, or,

if possible, a superiority to them. The true follower of

Christ comes down in order to elevate others.

The maxims and institutions of this world have ever

been antagonistic to the teachings and example of Jesus

Christ. Men toil for wealth, honor, and power, not as

means for raising others tp an equality with themselves,

but mainly for earthly, selfish advantages. Although the

experience of this life shows that children brought up to

labor have the fairest chance for a virtuous and prosperous

life, and for hope of future eternal blessedness, yet it is theaim of most parents who can do so, to lay up wealth that

their children need not labor with the hands ae Christ did.

TSE CMBISTIAN FAMILY. 21

And although exhorted by our Lord not to lay up treasure

on earth, but rather the imperishable riches which are

gained in toiling to train the ignorant and reform the sin-

ful, as yet a large portion of the professed followers of

Christ, like his first disciples, are "slow of heart to be-

lieve."

Not less have the sacred ministries of the family state

been undervalued and warred upon in other directions;,

for example, the Komish Church has made celibacy a

prime virtue, and given its highest honors to those whoforsake the family state as ordained by God. Thus camegreat communities of monks and nuns, shut out from the

love and labors of a Christian home ; thus, also, came the

monkish systems of education, collecting the young in

great establishments away from the watch and care of

parents, and the healthful and self-sacrificing labors of a

home. Thus both religion and education have conspired

to degrade the family state.

Still more have civil laws and social customs been op-

posed to the priaciples of Jesus Christ. It has ever been

assumed that the learned, the rich, and the powerful are

not to labor with the hands, as Christ did, and as Paul

did when he would " not eat any man's bread for naught,

but wrought with labor, not because we have not power "

[to live without hand-work,J " but to make ourselves an

example." (2 Thess. 3.)

Instead of this, manual labor has been made dishonora-

ble and unrefined by being forced on the ignorant and

poor. Especially has the most important of all hand-la-

bor, that which sustains the family, been thus disgraced

;

so that to nurse young children, and provide the food of a

family by labor, is deemed the lowest of all positions in

honor and profit, and the last resort of poverty. And so

our Lord, who himself took the form of a servant, teaches,

" How hardly shall they that have riches enter the king-

dom of heavenJ."—that kingdom in which all are toiling


to raise the weak, ignorant, and sinful to such equality

with themselves as the childi-en of a loving family enjoy.

One mode in which riches have led to antagonism with

the true end of the family state is in the style of living,

by which the hand-labor, most important to health, com-

fort, and beauty, is confined to the most ignorant and neg-

lected members of society, without any eifort being made

to raise them to equal advantages with the wise and cul

tivated.

And, the higher civilization has advanced, the mor-

have children been trained to feel that to labor, as did

Christ and Paul, is disgraceful, and to be made the por-

tion of a degraded class. Children of the rich grow up

with the feeling that servants are to work for them, and

they themselves are not to work. To the minds of most

children and servants, "to be a lady," is almost synony-

mous Avith "to be waited on, and do no worlf." It is the

earnest desire of the authors of this volume to make plain

the falsity of this growing popular feeling, and to show

how much happier and more efficient family life will

become when it is strengthened, sustained, and adorned

by family work.

II

A CHEISTIAN HOUSE.

In the Divine "Word it is written, " The wise woman build-

cth her house." To be "wise," is "to choose the best

means for accomplishing the best end." It has been shownthat the best end for a woman to seek is the training of

God's children for their eternal home, by guiding them to

intelligence, virtue, and true happiness. "When, therefore,

the wise woman seeks a home in which to exercise this


ministry, she will aim to secure a house so planned that it

will provide in the best manner for health, industry, and

economy, those cardinal requisites of domestic enjoyment

and success. To aid in this," is the object of the following

drawiilgs and descriptions, which will illustrate a style of

living more conformed to the great design for which the

family is instituted than that which ordinarily prevails

among those classes which take the lead in forming the

customs of society. The aim will be to exhibit modes of

economizing labor, time, and expenses, so as to secure

health, thrift, and domestic happiness to persons of limited

means, in a measure rarely attained even by those whopossess wealth.

At the head of this chapter is a sketch of what may be

properly called a Christian house ; that is, a house con-

trived for the express purpose of enabling every memberof a family to labor with the hands for the common good,

and by modes at once healthful, economical, and tasteful

Of course, much of the instruction conveyed in the fol

lowing pages is chiefly applicable to the wants and habits

of those living either in the country or in such suburban

vicinities as give space of ground for healthful outdoor

occupation in the family service, although the general

principles of house-building and house-keeping are of ne-

cessity universal in their application—as true in the busy

confines of the city as in the freer and purer quietude of

the country. So far as circumstances can be made to

yield the opportunity, it will be assumed that the family

state demands some outdoor labor for all. The cultiva-

tion of flowers to ornament the table and house, of fruits

and vegetables for food, of silk and cotton for clothing,

and the care of horse, cow, and dairy, can be so divided

that each and all of the family, some part of the day,

can take exercise in the pure air, under the magnetic andhealthful rays of the sun. Every head of a family should

seek a soil and climate which will afford such opportuni-

A CBBISTIAN HOUSE. . 25

ties. Railroads, enabling men toiling in cities to rear

families in the country, are on this account a special bless-

ing. So, also, is the opening of the South to free labor,

where, in the pure and mild climate of the uplands, open-

air labor can proceed most of the year, and women and

children labor out of doors as well as w; thin.

In the following drawings ai'e presented modes of econ-

omizing time, labor, and expense by the close packing of

conveniences. By such methods, small and economical

houses can be made to secure most of the comforts and

many of the refinements of large and expensive ones.

The cottage at the head of this chapter is projected on a

plan which can be adapted to a warm or cold climate with

little change. By adding another story, it would serve a

large family.

Fig. 1 shows the ground-plan of the first fioor. On the

inside it is forty-three feet long and twenty-five wide, ex-

cluding conservatories and front and back projections. Its

inside height from floor to ceiling is ten feet. The piazzas

each side of the front projection have sliding-windows to

the floor, and can, by glazed sashes, be made green-houses

in winter. In a warm climate, piazzas can be made at the

back side also.

In the description and arrangement, the leading aim is

to show how time, labor, and expense are saved, not only

in the building but in furniture and its arrangement.

"With this aim, the ground-floor and its furniture will first

be shown, then the second story and its farniture, and

then the basement and its conveniences. The conserva-

tories are appendages not necessary to housekeeping, but

useful in many ways pointed out more at large in other

chapters.

The entry has arched recesses behind the front doors,

(Fig. 2,) furnished with hooks for over-clothes in both—

a

box for over-shoes in one, and a stand for umbrellas in the

other. The roof of the recess is for statuettes, busts, or

Fig. 1.

43 X 25

IKSIDE

10 FEET

FROMFLOOR TO CEILlNe

DRAWING ROOM25 X 16

<NN<

A CBRISTIAN SOUSE. 2r

flowers. The stairs turn twice with broad steps, making-a recess at the lower landing, where a table is set with a

, vase of flowers, (Fig. 3.) On one side

of the recess is a closet, arched to cor-

respond with the arch over the stairs.

A bracket over the first broad stair,

with flowers or statuettes, is visible

from the entrance, and pictures can

be hung as in the illustration.

The large room on the left can be

made to serve the purpose of several

rooms by means of a movable screen.

By shifting this rolling screen from one

part of the room to another, two apart-

ments are alwaj's available, of any de-

sired size within the limits of the large

room. One side of the screen fi'onts

what ma)- be used as the parlor or sitting-room ; the other

side is arranged for

bedroom conveni-

ences. Of this. Fig.

4 shows the front

side ; covered first

with strong canvas,

stretched and nailed

on. Over this is

pasted panel-paper,

and the upper part

is made to resemble

an ornamental cor-

nice by fresco-paper.

Pictures can be

hung in the panels,

or be pasted on and

varnished withwhite varnish. To

Mg. 3.

CL.OSET


prevent tlie absorption of the varnisli, a wash of gum

isinglass (fish-glue) must be applied twice.

IflUUBEEBR01J.£RS R.OMLERS

rig. 5 shows the back or inside of the movable screen,

toward the part of the room used as the bedroom. Onone side, and at the top and bottom, it has shelves with

shelf-toxes, which are cheaper and better than drawers,

and much preferred by those using them. Handles are

cut in the front and back side, as seen in Fig. 6. Half an

inch space must be between the box and the shelf over it,

and as much each side, so that it can be taken out and

put in easily. The central part of the screen's interior is

a wardrobe.

This screen must be so high as nearly to reach the

ceiling, in order to prevent it from overturning. It is 'to

fill the vndth of the room, except two feet on each side.

A projecting cleat or strip, reaching nearly to the top of

A CHRISTLAN BOUSE. 29

the screen, three inches wide, is to be screwed to the front

sides, on which light frame doors are to be hung, covered

Fig. B.

CEIL/NG

Fig. 6.

with canvas and panel-paper like the front of the screen.

The inside of these doors is furnished with hooks for cloth-

ing, for which the projection makes room. The whole

screen is to be eighteen inches deep at the top and two

feet deep at the base, giving a

solid foundation. It is moved

on four wooden rollers, one

foot long and four inches in

diameter. The pivots of the

rollers and the parts where

there is friction must be rubbed with hard soap, and then

a child can move the whole easily.

A curtain is to be hung across the whole interior of the

30 THE BOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

screen by rings, on a strong wire. The curtain should be

in three parts, with lead or large nails in the hems to

keep it in place. The wood-work must be put together

with screws, as the screen is too large to pass through a

door.

At the end of the room, behind the screen, are two

couches, to be run one under the other, as in Fig. 7. The

Fig. 7.

te?

upper one is made with four posts, each three feet high

and three inches square, set on casters two inches high.

The frame is to be fourteen inches from the floor, seven

feet long, two feet, four inches wide, and three inches in

thickness. At the head, and at the foot, is to be screwed

a notched two-inch board, three inches wide, as in Fig. 8.

The mortises are to be one inch'^' "^ wide and deep, and one inch apart,

I— '

—^

'—

' I to receive slats made of ash, oak,

or spruce, one inch square, placed

lengthwise of the couch. The slats being small, and so

near together, and running lengthwise, make a better

spring frame than wire coils. If they warp, they can be

turned. They must not be fastened at the ends, except

by insertion in the notches. Across the posts, and of equal

height with them, are to be screwed head and foot-boards.

A CBRISTIAN HOUSE. 31

I'ig. 9.

The under coueli is like the upper, expept these dimen-

sions : posts, nine inches high, including castors ; frame,

six feet two inches long, two feet four inches wide. The

frame should be as near the floor as possible, resting on

the casters.

The most healthful and comfortable mattress is madeby a case, open in

the centre and

fastened together

with buttons, as

in Fig. 9 ; to be

filled with oat

straw, which is softer than wheat or rye. This can be

adjusted to the figure, and often renewed.

Fig. 10 represents the upper couch when covered, with

the under couch put beneath it. The coverlid should

match the curtain of the screen ; and the pillows, by day,

should have a case of the same.

_!_[!_

Kg. 10.

k<:>i.

Fig. 11.

Fig. 11 is an ottoman, made as a box, with a lid onhinges. A cushion is fastened to this lid by strings at

each corner, passing through holes in the box lid and tied

inside. The cushion to be cut square, with side pieces

;

stuffed with hair, and stitched through like a mattress.

Side handles are made by cords fastened inside with knots.

The box must be two inches larger at the bottom than

at the top, and the lid and cushion the same size as the

bottom, to give it a tasteful shape. This ottoman is set

on casters, and is a great convenience for holding articles,

while serving also as a seat.

32 THE EOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

The exponse of the screen, where lumber averages $4 a

hundi-ed, and carpenter labor $3 a day, would be about

$30, and the two couches about $6. The material for

covering might be cheap and yet pretty. A woman w'th

these directions, and a son or husband who would use plane

and saw, could thus secure much additional room, and

also what amounts to two bureaus, two large trunks, one

large wardrobe, and a wash-stand, for less than $20—the

mere cost of materials. The screen and couches can be

so arranged as to have one room serve first as a large and

airy sleeping-room ; then, in the morning, it may be used

as sitting-room one side of the screen, and breakfast-room

the other ; and lastly, through the day it can be made a

large parlor on the front side, and a sewing or retiring-

room the other side. The needless spaces usually devoted

to kitchen, entries, halls, back-stairs, pantries, store-rooms,

and closets, by this method would be used in adding to

the size of the large room, so variously used by day andby night.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged plan of the kitchen and stove-

room. The chimney and stove-room are contrived to

ventilate the whole house, by a mode exhibited in another

chapter.

Between the two rooms glazed sliding-doors, passing

each other, serve to shut out heat and smells from the

kitchen. The sides of the stove-roorn must be lined withshelves ; those on the side by the cellar stairs, to be one

foot wide, and eighteen inches apart ; on the other side,

shelves may be narrower, eight inches wide and nine

inches apart. Boxes with lids, to receive stove utensils,

must be placed near the stove.

On these shelves, and in the closet and boxes, can beplaced every material used for cooking, all the table andcooking utensils, and all the articles used in house work,and yet much spare room will be left. The cook's galleyJn a steamship has every article and utensH used in cook-

Fig. 12.

^—^ T,l


ing for two hundred persons, in a space not larger than

this stove-room, and so arranged that with one or two

steps the cook can reach all he uses.

In contrast to this, in most large houses, the table

furniture, the cooking materials and utensils, the sink, and

the eating-room, are at such distances apart, that half the

time and strength is employed in walking back and forth

to collect and return the articles used.

Pig. 13.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged plan of the sink and cooking-

form. Two windows make a better circulation of air in

warm weather, by having one open at top and the other

A CHRISTIAN HOUSE. 35

at the bottom, while the light is better adjusted for worlc-

ing, in case of weak eyes.

The flour-barrel just fills the closet, which has a door

for admission, and a lid to raise when used. 13eside it, is

the form for cooking, with a moulding-board laid on it

;

one side used for preparing vegetables and meat, and the

other for moulding bread. The sink has two pumps, for

well and for rain-water—one having a forcing power to

throw water into the reservoir in the garret, which sup-

plies the water-closet and bath-room. On the other side

of the sink is the dish-drainer, with a ledge on the edge

next the sink, to hold the dishes-, and grooves cut to let

the water drain into the sink. It has hinges, so that it

can either rest on the cook-form or be turned over and

cover the sink. Under the sink are shelf-boxes placed on

two shelves run into grooves, with other grooves above

and below, so that one may move the shelves and increase

or diminish the spaces between. The shelf-boxes can be

used for scouring-materials, dish-towels, and dish-cloths;

also to hold bowls for bits of butter, fats, etc. Under

these two shelves is room for two pails, and a jar for

soap-grease.

Under the cook-form are shelves and shelf-boxes for un-

bolted wheat, corn-meal, rye, etc. Beneath these, for

white and brown sugar, are wooden can-pails, which are

the best articles in which to keep these constant neces-

sities. Eeside them is the tin molasses-can with a tight,

movable cover, and a cork in the spout. This is much

better than a jug for molasses, and also for vinegar and

oil, being easier to clean and to handle. Other articles

and implements for cooking can be arranged on or under

the shelves at the side and front. _, _Fig. 14.

A small cooking-tray, holding

pepper, salt, dredging-box, knife

and spoon, should stand close at _\—

-

hand by the stove, (Fig. 14.)


<^^^'

Pig. 16.

The articles used for setting ng. 15.

tables are to be placed on tbe

shelves at the front and side of

the sink. Two tumbler-trays,

made of pasteboard, covered

with varnished fancy papers and

divided by wires, (as shown in Fig. 15,) save many steps

in setting' and clearing table. Similar trays, (Fig. 16,) for

knives and forks and spoons, serve

the same purpose.

The sink should be three feet

long and three inches deep, its

width matching the cook-form.

Fig. lY is the second or attic story. The main objection

to attic rooms is their warmth in summer, owing to the

heated roof This is prevented by so enlarging the closets,

each side that their walls meet * Mg. is.

the ceiling under the garret

floor, thus excluding all the

roof In the bed-chambers,

corner dressing-tables, as Fig.

18, instead of projecting bu-

reaus, save much space for

use, and give a handsomeform and finish to the room.

In the bath-room must be

the opening to the garret, and

a step-ladder to reach it. Areservoir in the garret, sup-

plied by a forcing-pump in

the cellar or at the sink, mustbe well supported by timbers, and the plumbing must be

,

well done, or liiuch annoyance will ensue.

The large chambers are tq'be lighted by large windowsor glazed sliding-doors, opening upon the balcony. A roof

can be put over the balcony and its sides inclosed by win-

Mg. 17.


Fig. 19.

dows, and tlie clianiber extend into it, and be tlms muchenlarged.

The water-closets must have the latest improvements

for safe discharge, and there will be no trouble. Theycost no more than an out-door building, and save from the

most disagreeable house-labor.

A great improvement, called ea/rth-closets, will probably

take the place of water-closets to some extent ; though at

present the water is the more convenient. A description of

the earth-closet will be giveu in another chapter relating to

tenement-houses for the poor in large cities.

The method of ventilating all the chambers, and also

the cellar, will be desci'ibed in another chapter.

Fig. 19 represents a shoe-bag,

that can be fastened to the side

of a closet or closet-door.

Fig. 20 represents a piece-bag,

and is a very great labor and space-

saving invention. It is made of

calico, and fastened to the side of

a closefr or a door, to hold all the

bundles that are usually stowed

in trunks and drawers. India-

rubber or elastic tape drawn into

hems to hold the contents of the

bag is better than tape-strings.

Each bag should be labeled with

the name of its contents, written

with indelible ink on white tape sewed on to the bag.

Such systematic arrangement saves much time and'annoy-ance. Drawers or trunks to hold these articles can not bekept so easily in good order, and moreover, occupy spaces

saved by this contrivance.

Fig. 21 is the basement. It has the floor and sides plas-

tered, and is lighted with glazed doors. A form is raised

close by the cellar stairs, for baskets, pails, and tubs.

A CHRISTIAN SOUSE. 39

Here, also, tlie refrigerator can be placed, or, what is

better, an ice-closet can be made, as designated in theillustration. The floor of the basement must be an in-

clined plane toward a drain, and be plastered with water-lime. The wash-tubs have plugs in the bottom to let ofi"

water, and cocks and pipes over them bringing cold waterfrom the reservoir in the garret and hot water from thelaundry stove. This saves much heavy labor of emptyingtubs and carrying water.

The laundry closet has a stove for heating irons, andalso a kettle on top for heating water. Slides or clothes-

Fig. 20.

i Si/

:2

Fig. 21.

IRONINGTABLE

LAUNDRY

I-

too

oTUBS

O LAUNDRYSLIDES

>-

a

A CMBISTIAJV SOUSE. 41

frames are made to draw out to receive wet clothes, and

then run into the closet to dry. This saves health as well

as time and money, and the clothes are as white as whendi-ied outdoors.

The wood-work of the house, for doors, windows, etc.,

should be oiled chestnut, butternut, whitewood, and pine.

This is cheaper, handsomer, and more easy to keep clean

than painted wood.

In Fig. 1 are planned two conservatories, and few under-

stand their value in the training of the young. They pro-

vide soil, in which children, through the winter months,

can be starting seeds and plants for their gardens and rais-

ing valuable, tender plants. Every child should cultivate

flowers and fruits to sell and to give away, and thus be

taught to learn the value of money and to practice both

economy and benevolence.

According to the calculation of a house-carpenter, in a

place where the a/vertige price of lumber is $4 a hundred,

and carpenter work $3 a day, such a house can be built

for $1600. For those practicing the closest economy, two

small families could occupy it, by dividing the kitchen,

and yet have room enough. Or one large room and the

chainber over it can be left till increase of family and

means require enlargement.

A strong horse and carryall, with a cow, garden, vine-

yard, and orchard, on a few acres, would secure all the

substantial comforts found in great establishments, with-

out the trouble of ill-qualified servants. ^

And if the parents and- children were united in the

daily labors of the house, garden, and fruit culture, such

thrift, health, and happiness would be secured as is but

rarely found among the rich.

Let us suppose a colony of cultivated and Christian peo-

ple, having abundant wealth, who now are living as the

wealthy usually do, emigrating to some of the beauti-

ful Southern uplands, where are rocks, hills, valleys, and


mountains as picturesque as those of New-England, where

the thermometer but rarely reaches 90° in summer, and

in winter as rarely sinks below freezing-point, so that out

door labor goes on all the year, where the fertile soil is

easily worked, where rich tropical fruits and flowers

abound, where cotton and silk can be raised by children

around their home, where the produce of vineyards and

orchards finds steady markets by railroads ready made;

suppose such a colony, with a central church and school-

room, library, hall for sports, and a common laundry, (tak-

ing the most trying part of domestic labor from each

house,)—suppose each family to train the children to

labor with the hands as a healthful and honorable duty

;

suppose all this, which is perfectly practicable, would not

the enjoyment of this life be increased, and also abundant

treasures be laid up in heaven, by using the wealth thus

economized in diffusing similar enjoyments and culture

among the poor, ignorant, and neglected ones in desolated

sections where many now are perishing for want of Bucb

Christian example and influences ?

m.

A HEAlTHFUl HOME.

When " the wise woman buildeth her house," the first

consideration will be the health of the inmates. Thefirst and most indispensable requisite for health is pure

air, both by day and night.

If the parents of a family should daily withhold from

their children a large portion of food needful to growth.

and health, and every night should administer to each a

small dose of poison, it would be called murder of the

most hideous character. But it is probable that more

than one half of this nation are doing that very thing.

The murderous operation is perpetrated daily and nightly,

in our parlors, our bed-rooms, our kitchens, our school-

rooms ; and even our churches are no asylum from the

barbarity. N'or can we escape by our railroads, for even

there the same dreadful work is going on.

The only palliating circumstance is the ignorance of

those who commit these wholesale murders. As saith the

Scripture, " The people do perish for lack of knowledge."

And it is this lack of knowledge which it is woman's

special business to supply, in first training her household

to intelligence as the indispensable road to virtue and

happiness.

The above statements will be illustrated by some ac-

count of the manner in which the body is supplied with

healthful nutriment. There are two modes of nourishing

the body, one is by fpod and the other by air. In the

44 TBE HOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

Fig. a

stomach the food is dissolved, and the nutritious portion

is absorbed by the blood, and then is carried by blood-

vessels to the lungs, where it receives oxygen from the

air we breathe. This oxygen is as necessary to the nourish-

ment of the body as the food for the stomach. In a full-

grown man weighing one hundred and fifty-four pounds,

one hundred and eleven poxmds consists of oxygen, ob-

tained chiefly from the air we breathe. Thus the lungs

feed the body with oxygen, as really as the stomach sup-

plies the other food required.

The lungs occupy the upper

portion of the body from the

collar-bone to the lower ribs,

and between their two lobes is

placed the heart.

Fig. 22 shows the position of

the lungs, though not the exact

shape. On the right hand is

the exterior of one of the lobes,

and on the left hand are seen

the branching tubes of the in-

terior, through which the air

we breathe passes to the ex-

ceedingly minute air-cells of

which the lungs chiefly consist.

Fig. 23 shows the outside of a

cluster of these air-cells, andFig. 23. Fig. 24 is the in-

side view. Thelining membraneof each air-cell is

covered by a net-

work of minute

blood-vessels call-

ed cajpil la/ries,

which, magnified

Fig. 24.

.if

t1

/

«

/' ^

A SEA'LTBmL HOME. 45

Fig. 26.

several tmndred times, appear in the microscope as at Fig.

25. Every air-cell has a blood-vessel that brings blood

fi'om the heart,^' which meanders

through its capil-

laries till it reach-

es another blood-

vessel that carries

it back to the

heart, as seen in

Fig. 26. In this

passage of the blood through these

capillaries, the air in the air-cell im-

parts its oxygen to the blood, and re-

ceives in exchange carbonic acid and

watery vapor. These latter are expir-

ed at every breath into the atmo-

sphere.

By calculating the number of air

cells in a small portion of the lungs, under a miscroscope,

it is ascertained that there are no less than eighteen mil-

lion of these wonderful little purifiers and feeders of the

body. By their ceaseless ministries, every grown person

receives, each day, thirty-three hogsheads of air into the

lungs to nourish and vitalize every part of the body, and

also to carry off its impurities.

But the heart has a most important agency in this

operation. Fig. 27 is a diagram of the heart, which is

placed between the two lobes of the lungs. The right

side of the heart receives the dark and impure blood,

which is loaded with carbonic acid. It is brought from

every point of the body by branching veins that unite in

the upper and the lower vena cava, which discharge into

the right side of the heart. This impure blood passes to

the capillaries of the air-cells in the lungs, where it gives

off carbonic acid, and, taking oxygen from the air, then


returns to the left side of the heart, from whence it is sent

out through the aorta and its myriad branching arteries

to every part of the body.

AORTA When the up-

per portion of the

heart contracts, it

forces both the

pure blood from

the lungs, and

the impure blood

from the body,

thr o ugh th e

valves marked Y,

V, into the lower

part. When the

lower portioncontracts, it closes

the valves and

forces the impure

blood into the

lungs on one side, and also on the other side forces the

purified blood through the aorta and arteries to all parts

of the body.

As before stated, the lungs consist chiefly of air-cells,

the walls of which are lined with minute blood-vesselsj

and we know that in every man these air-cells numbereighteen millions.

ITow every beat of the heart sends two ounces of blood

into the minute, hair-like blood-vessels, called capillaries,

that line these air-cells, where the air in the air-cells gives

its oxygen to the blood, and in its place receives carbonic

acid. This gas is then expired by the lungs into the sur-

rounding atmosphere.

Thus, by this powerful little organ, the heart, no less

than twenty-eight pounds of blood, in a common-sizedman, is sent three times every hour through the lungs.

Fig. 27.

A BEALTBFXJL HOME. 47

giving out carbonic acid and watery vapor, and receiving

the life-inspiring oxygen.

Whether all this blood shall convey the nourishing andinvigorating oxygen to every part of the body, or return

unrelieved of carbonic acid, depends entirely on the pure-

ness of the atmosphere that is breathed.

Every time we think or feel, this mental action dissolves

some particles of the brain and nerves, which pass into

the blood to be thrown out of the body through the liingB

and skin. In like manner, whenever we move any muscle,

some of its particles decay and pass away. It is in the

capillaries, which are all over the body, that this change

takes place. The blood-vessels that convey the pure blood

from the heart, divide into myriads of little branches that

terminate in capillary vessels like those lining the air-cells

of the lungs. The blood meanders through these minute

capillaries, depositing the oxygen taken from the lungs

and the food of the stomach, and receiving in return the

decayed matter, which is chiefly carbonic acid.

This carbonic acid is formed by the union of oxygen

with carbon or cha/rcoal, which forms a large portion of

the body. "Watery vapor is also formed in the capillaries

by the union of oxygen with the hydrogen contained in

the food and drink that nourish the body.

During this process in the capillaries, the bright red

blood of the arteries changes to the purple blood of the

veins, which is carried back tO|the heart, to be sent to the

lungs as before described. A portion of the oxygen re-

ceived in the lungs unites with the dissolved food sent

from the stomach into the blood, and no food can not rish

the body tUl it has received a proper supply of oxygen in

the lungs. At every breath a half-pint of blood receives

its needed oxygen in the lungs, and at the same time gives

out an equal amount of carbonic acid and water.

Kow, this carbonic acid, if received into the lungs,

andiluted by sufficient air, is a fatal poison, causing


certain death. When it is mixed with only a small por-

tion of air, it is a slow poison, which imperceptibly under-

mines the constitution.

We now can understand how it is that all who live in

houses where the breathing of inmates has deprived the

air of oxygen, and loaded it with carbonic acid, may truly

be said to be poisoned and starved ; -poisoned with carbonic

acid, and starved for want of oxygen.

Whenever oxygen unites with carbon to form carbonic

acid, or with hydrogen to form water, heat is generated

Thus it is that a kind of combustion is constantly going

on in the capillaries all over the body. It is this burning

of the decaying portions of the body that causes animal

heat. It is a process similar to that which takes place

when lamps and candles are burning. The oil and tallow,

which are chiefly carbon and hydrogen, unite with the

oxygen of the air and form carbonic acid and watery

vapor, producing heat during the process. So in the ca-

pillaries all over the body, the carbon and hydrogen sup-

plied to the blood by the stomach, unite with the oxygen

gained in the lungs, and cause the heat which is diffused

all over the body.

The skin also performs an office, similar to that of the

lungs. In the skin of every adult there are no less than

seven million minute perspirating tubes, each one fourth

of an inch long. If all these were united in one length,

they would extend twenty-eight miles. These minute

tubes are lined with capillary blood-vessels, which are

constantly sending out not only carbonic acid, but . other

gases and particles of decayed matter. The skin and

lungs together, in one day and night, throw out three

quarters of a pound of charcoal as carbonic acid, beside

Qther gases and water.

While the bodies of men and animals are filling the

air with the poisonous carbonic acid, and using up the

.life-giving oxygen, the trees and plants are performing an

A HEALTHFUL HOME. 49

exactly contrary process ; for they are absorbing carbonic

acid and giving out oxygen. Thus, by a wonderful

arrangenient of the beneficent Creator, a constant equi-

librium is preserved. What animals use is provided byvegetables, and what vegetables require is furnished byanimals ; and all goes on, day and night, without care or

thought of man.

The human race in its infancy was placed in a mild

and genial clime, where each separate family dweit in

tents, and breathed, both day and night, the pure air of

heaven. And when they became scattered abroad to

colder climes, the open fire-place secured a full supply of

pure air. But civilization has increased economies and

conveniences far ahead of the knowledge needed by the

common people for their healthful use. Tight sleeping-

rooms, and close, air-tight stoves, are now starving and poi-

soning more than one half of this nation. It seems im-

possible to make people know their danger. And the

remedy for this is the light of knowledge and intelligence

which it is woman's special mission to bestow, as she con-

trols and regulates the ministries of a home.

The poisoning process is thus exhibited in Mrs. Stowe's

" House and Home Papers," and can not be recalled too

often

:

" ISTo other gift of God, so precious, so inspiring, is treat-

ed with si^ch utter irreverence and contempt in the calcu-

lations of us mortals as this same air of heaven. A ser-

mon on oxygen, if we had a preacher who understood the

subject, might do more to repress sin than the most, ortho-

dox discourse to show when and how and why sin came.

A minister gets up in a crowded lecture-room, where the

mephitic air almost makes the candles burn blue, and be-

wails the deadness of the church—the church the while,

drugged by the poisoned air, growing sleepier and sleepier,

though they feel dreadfully wicked for being so.

" Little Jim, who, fresh from his afternoon's ramble in

50 THE HOVSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

the fields, last evening said his prayers dutifully, and lay

down to sleep in a most Christian frame, this morning sits

up in bed with his hair bristling with crossness, strikes at

his nurse, and declares he won't say his prayers—that he

don't want to be good. The simple difference is, that the

child, having slept in a close box of a room, his brain all

night fed by poison, is in a mild state of moral insanity.

Delicate women remark that it takes them till eleven or

twelve o'clock to get up their strength in the morning.

Query, Do they sleep with closed windows and doors, and

with heavy bed-curtains ?

" The houses built by our ancestors were better ventila-

ted in certain respects than modern ones, with all their

improvements. The great central chimney, with its open

fire-places in the different rooms, created a constant cur-

rent which carried off foul and vitiated air. In these

days, how common is it to provide rooms with only a flue

for a stove ! This flue is kept shut in summer, and in win-

ter opened only to admit a close stove, which burns awaythe vital portion of the air quite as fast as the occupants

breathe it away. The sealing up of flre-places and intro-

duction of air-tight stoves may, doubtless, be a saving of

fael ; it saves, too, more than that ; in thousands and thou-

sands of cases it has saved people from all further humanwants, and put an end forever to any needs short of the

six feet of narrow earth which are man's only inalienable

property. In other words, since the invention of air-tight

stoves, thousands have died of slow poison.

" It is a terrible thing to reflect upon, that our northern

winters last from November to May, six long months, in

which many families co:ifine themselves to one room, of

which every window-crack has been carefully calked to

make it air-tight, where an air-tight stove keeps the atmo-sphere at a temperature between eighty and ninety ; andthe inmates, sitting there with all their winter clothes on,

become enervated both by the heat and by the poisoned

A BBALTSFUL HOME. 51

air, for which there is no escape but the occasional open-

ing of a door.

" It is no wonder that the first result of all this is sucha delicacy of skin and lungs that about half the inmatesare obliged to give up going into the open air diu-ing the

six cold months, because they invariably catch cold if theydo so. It is no wonder that the cold caught about the first

of Deceniber has by the first of March b'ecome a fixed con-

sumption, and that the opening of the spring, which ought

to bring life and health, in so many cases brings death.

" "We hear of the lean condition in which the poor bears

emerge from their six months' wintering, during whichthey subsist on the fat which they have acquired the pre-

vious summer. Even so, in our long winters, multitudes

of deUcate people subsist on the daily waning strength

which they acquired in the season when windows anddoors were open, and fresh air was a constant luxury. Nowonder we hear of spring fever and spring biliousness, andhave thousands of nostrums for clearing the blood in the

spring. All these things are the pantings and palpita

tions of a system run down under slow poison, unable to

get a step further.

"Better, far better, the old houses of the olden time,

with their great roaring fires, and their bed-rooms where

the snow came in and the wintry winds whistled. Then,

to be sure, you froze your back while you burned your

face, your water froze nightly in your pitcher, your breath

congealed in ice-wreaths on the blankets, and you could

write your name on the pretty snow-wreath that had sifted

in tlirough the window-cracks. But you woke full of life

- and vigor, you looked out into the whirling snow-storms

without a shiver, and thought nothing of plunging through

drifts as high as your head on your daily way t6 school.

Ton jingled in sleighs, you snow-balled, you lived in snow

like a snow-bird, and your blood coursed and tingled, in

full tide of good, merry, real life, through your veins

—

52 TEE HOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

none of the slow-creeping, black blood wbicli clogs the

brain and lies like a weight on the vital wheels !"

To illustrate the effects of this poison, the horrors of

"the Black Hole of Calcutta" aê often referred to,

where one hundi-ed and forty-six men were crowded into

a room only eighteen feet square with but two small win-

dows, and in a hot climate. After a night of such horri-

ble torments as chill the blood to read, the morning

showed a pUe of one hundred and twenty-three dead men

and twenty-three half dead that were finally recovered

only to a life of weakness and suffering.

In another case, a captain of the steamer Londonderry,

in 1848, from sheer ignorance of the consequences, in a

storm, shut up his passengers in a tight room without win-

dows. The agonies, groans, curses, and shrieks that fol-

lowed were horrible. The struggling mass finally burst

the door, and the captain found seventy-two of the two

hundred already dead; while others, with blood starting

from their eyes and ears, and their bodies in convulsions,

were restored, many only to a life of sickness and de-

bility.

It is ascertained by experiments that breathing bad

air tends so to reduce all the processes of the body, that

less oxygen is demanded and less carbonic acid sent out.

This, of course, lessens the vitality and weakens the con-

stitution ; and it accounts for the fact that a person of full

health, accustomed to pure air, suffers from bad air far

more than those who are accustomed to it. The body of

strong and healthy persons demands more oxygen, and

throws off more carbonic acid, and is distressed when the

supply fails. But the one reduced by bad air feels little

inconvenience, because all the functions of life are so slow

that less oxygen is needed, and less carbonic acid thrown

out. And the sensibilities being deadened, the evil is not

felt. This provision of nature prolongs many lives, thoughit turns vigorous constitutions into feeble ones. Were it

A BEALTSFTTL SOME. 53

not for this change in the constitution, thousands in badly

ventilated rooms and houses would come to a speedy death.

One of the results of unventilated rooms is scrofula. Adistinguished French physician, M. Baudeloque, states that

:

" The repeated respiration of the same atmosphere is

t?ie cause of scrofula. If there be entirely pure air, there

may be bad food, bad clothing, and want of personal clean-

liness, but scrofulous disease can not exist. This disease

never attacks persons who pass their lives in the open air,

and always manifests itself when they abide in air which

is unrenewed. Inva/riahly it will be found that a trii.y

scrofulous disease is caused by vitiated air ; and it is not

necessary that there should be a prolonged stay in such

an atmosphere. Often, several hours each day is suffi-

cient. Thus persons may live in the most healthy coun-

try, pass most of the day in the open air, and yet become

scrofulous by sleeping in a close room where the air is not

renewed. This is the case with many shepherds who pass

their nights in small huts with no opening but a door

closed tight at night."

The same writer illustrates this by the history of a

French village where the inhabitants all slept in close, un-

ventilated houses. Nearly all were seized with scrofula,

and many families became wholly extinct, their last mem-bers dying "rotten with scrofula." A fire destroyed a

large part of this village. Houses were then built to

secure pure- air, and scrofnla disappeared from the part

thus rebuilt.

"We are informed by medical writers that defecti^ve ven-

tilation is one great cause of diseased joints, as well as of

diseases of the eyes, ears, and skin.

Foul air is the leading cause of tubercular and scrofu-

lous consumption, so very common in our country. Dr.

Guy, in his examination before public health commission-

ers in Great Britain, says :" Deficient ventilation I believe

to be more fatal than all other causes put together." He


states tliiit consumption is twice as common among trades-

men as among the gentry, owing to the bad ventilation of

their stores and dwellings.

Dr. Griscom, in his work on Uses and Abuses of Air,

says

:

" Food carried from the stomach to the blood can not be-

come nutritive till it is properly oxygenated in the lungs

;

so that a small quantity of food, even if less wholesome,

may be made nutritive by pure air as it passes through

the lungs. But the best of food can not be changed into

nutritive blood till it is vitalized by pure air in the lungs."

And again

:

" To thpse who have the care and instruction of the ris-

ing generation—the fature fathers and mothers of men

—

this subject of ventilation commends itself with an inter-

est surpassing every other. Nothing can more convincing-

ly establish the belief in ,the existence of something vital-

ly wrong in the habits and circumstances of civilized life

than the appalling fact that onefov/rth of all who are born

die before reaching the fifth year, and one half the deaths

of mankind occur under the twentieth year. Let those

who have these things in charge answer to their own con-

sciences how they discharge their duty in supplying to the

young a pv/re atmosphere, which is the first requisite for

healthy iodies and sound minds.''''

On the subject of infant mortality the experience of sav-

ages should teach the more civilized. Professor Brewer,who traveled extensively among the Indians of our westernterritories, states :

" I have rarely seen a sick boy amongthe Indians." Catlin, the painter, who resided and traveled

so much among these people, states that infant mortality is

very small among them, the reason, of course, being abun-dant exercise and pure air.

Ur. Dio Lewis, whose labors in the cause of health are

well known, in his very usefal work, 'Weak Jjwngs, anaHow to MaJce them Strong, says

:

A HMALTBFXJL SOME. 66

" As a medical man I have visited thousands of sick-

rooms, and have not found in one in a hvm,dred of thema pure atmosphere. I have often returned from church

doubting whether I had not committed a sin in exposing

myself so long to its poisonous air. There are in our great

cities chm-ches costing $50,000, in the construction of which

not fifty cents were expended in providing means for ven-

tilation. Ten thousand dollars for ornament, but not ten

cents for pure air

!

" TJnventilated parlors, with gas-burners, (each consum-

ing as much oxygen as several men,) made as tight as pos-

sible, and a party of ladies and gentlemen spending half

the night in them! In 1861, I visited a legislative hall,

the legislature being in session. I remained half an hour

in the most impure air I ever breathed. Our school-houses

are, some of them, so vile in this respect, that I would pre-

fer to have my son remain in utter ignorance of books

rather than to breathe, six hours every day, such a poison-

ous atmosphere. Theatres tod concert-rooms are so foul

that only reckless people continue to visit them. Twelve

hours in a railway-car exhausts one, not by the journeying,

but because of the devitalized air. "While crossing the

ocean in a Cunard steamer, I was amazed that men whoknew enough to construct such ships did not know enough

to furnish air to the passengers. The distress of sea-sick-

ness is greatly intensified by the sickening air of the ship.

Were carbonic acid only hlach, what a contrast there would

be between our hotels in their elaborate ornament

!

" Some time since I visited an establishment where one

1 iiundred and fifty girls, in a single room, were engaged in

needle-work. Pale-faced, and with low vitality and feeble

circulation, they were unconscious that they were breath-

ing air that at once produced in me dizziness and a sense

of sufibcation. If I had remained a week with them, I

should, by reduced vitality, have become unconscious of

the vileness of the air!"

-56 TEE BOUSEKEEPBR'8 MANUAL.

There is a prevailing prejudice against night air as un-

healthfii- to be admitted into sleeping-rooms, wMcli is

owing wliolly to sheer ignorance. In the night every

body necessarily breathes night air and no other. Whenadmitted from without into a sleeping-room it is colder,

and therefore heavier, than the air within, so it , sinks to

the bottom of the room and forces out an equal quantity

of the impure air, warmed and vitiated by passing through

the lungs of inmates. Thus the question is. Shall we shut

up a chamber and breathe night air vitiated with carbonic

acid or night air that is pure ? The only real difficulty

about night air is, that usually it is damper, and therefore

colder and more likely to chill. This is easily prevented

by sufficient bed-clothing.

One other very prevalent mistake is found even in books

written by learned men. It is often thought that carbonic

acid, being heavier than common air, sinks to the floor of

sleeping-rooms, so that the low trundle-beds for children

should not be used. This is all a mistake ; for, as a fact, in

close sleeping-rooms the purest air is below and the most im-

pure above. It is true that carbonic acid is heavier than com-

mon air, when pure ; but this it rarely is except in chemical

experiments. It is the property of all gases, as well as of

the two (oxygen and nitrogen) composing the atmosphere,

that when brought together they always are entirely mixedêach being equally dififused exactly as it would be if alone.

Thus the carbonic acid from the skin and lungs, being

warmed in the body, rises as does the common air, withwhich it mixes, toward the top of a room

; so that usually

there is more carbonic acid at the L/p than at the bottom of

a room.* Both common air and carbonic acid expand andbecome lighter in the same proportions ; that ia,, for every

* Prof. Brewer, of the Yale Scientific School, says: "As a fact, oftendemonstrated by analysis, there is generally more carbonic acid npa'' thpceiling than near the floor."

A BEALTBFUL SOME. 57

degree of added heat they expand at the rate of ,1, of

their bulk.

Here, let it be remembered, that in ill-ventilated rooms

the carbonic acid is not the only cause of disease. Experi-

ments seem to prove that other matter thrown out of the

body, through the limgs and skin, is as truly excrement and

in a state of decay as that ejected from the bowels, and as

poisonous to the animal system. Carbonic acid has no

odor; but we are warned by the disagreeable effluvia of

close sleeping-rooms of the other poison thus thrown into

the air from the skin and lungs. There is one provision of

nature that is little understood, which saves the lives of

thousands living in unventilated houses; and that is, the

passage of pure air inward and impure air outward through

the pores of bricks, wood, stone, and mortar. "Were such

dwellings changed to tin, which is not thus porous, in less

than a week thousands and tens of thousands would be in

danger of peri^ng by suffocation.

These statements give some idea of the evils to be reme-

died. But the most difficult point is how to secure the

remedy. Tor often the attempt to secure pure air by one

class of persons brings chills, colds, and disease on another

class, from mere ignorance or mismanagement.

To illustrate this, it must be borne in mind that those

who live in warm, close, and unventilated rooms are much

more liable to take cold from exposure to draughts and

cold air than those of vigorous vitality' accustomed to

breathe pure air.

Thus the strong and healthy husband, feeling the want

of pure air in the night, and knowing its importance, keeps

windows open and makes such draughts that the wife, who

lives all day in a close room and thus is low in vitality, can

not bear the change, has colds, and sometimes perishes a

victim to wrong modes of veiitilation.

So, even in health-establishments, the patients will pass

most of their days and nights in badly-ventilated rooms.


But at times the physician, or some earnest patient, insists

on a mode of ventilation that brings more evil than good

to the delicate inmates.

The grand art of ventilating houses is by some method

that will empty rooms of the vitiated air and bring in a

supply of pure air iy small and imperceptible currents.

But this important duty of a Christian woman is one

that demands more science, care, and attention than

almost any other; and yet, to prepare her for this duty

has never been any part of female education. Youngwomen are taught to draw mathematical diagrams and to

solve astronomical problems ; but few, if any, of them are

taught to solve the problem of a house constructed to se-

cure pure and moist air by day and night for all its inmates.

The heating and management of the air we breathe is

one of the most complicated problems of domestic econo-

my, as will be farther illustrated in the succeeding chap-

ter; and yet it is one of which most American womenare profoundly ignorant.

IV.

SOrENTIFIO DOMESTIC VENTHiATIOlT.

We have seen in the preceding pages the process through

which the air is rendered nnhealthM by close rooms and

want ofventilation. Every person inspires air about twenty

times each minute, using half a pint each time. At this

rate, every pair of lungs vititates one hogshead of air every

hour. The membrane that lines the multitudinous air-cells

of the lungs in which the capillaries are, should it be united

in one sheet, would cover the floor of a room twelve

feet square. Every breath brings a surface of air in contact

with this extent of capillaries, by which the air inspired

gives up most of its oxygen and receives carbonic acid in

its stead. These facts furnish a guide for the proper venti-

lation of rooms. Just in proportion to the number of per-

sons in a room or a house, should be the amotmt of air

brought in and carried out by arrangements for ventilation.

But how rarely is this rule regarded in building houses or

in the care of families by housekeepers

!

The evils resulting from the substitution of stoves in-

stead of the open fireplace, have led scientific and benevo-

lent men to contrive various modes of supplying pure air

to both public and private houses. But as yet little has

been accomplished, except for a few of the more iatelligent

and wealthy. The great majority of the American people,

owing to sheer ignorance, are, for want of pure air, being

poisoned and starved ; the result being weakened constitu-

tions, frequent disease, and shortened life.

{JO THE HOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

"Whenever a family-room is heated by an open fire, it is

duly ventilated, as the impure air is constantly passing off

through the chimney, while, to supply the vacated space,

the pure air presses in through the cracks of doors, win-

dows, and floors. No such supply is gained for rooms

warmed by stoves. And yet, from mistaken motives of

economy, as well as from ignorance of the resulting evils,

multitudes of householders are thus destroying health and

shortening life, especially in regard to women and children

who spend most of their time within-doors.

The most successful rdodes of making " a healthfal home "

by a full supply of pure air to every inmate, will now be

described and illustrated.

It is the common property of both air and water to ex-

pand, become lighter and rise, just in proportion as they

are heated ; and therefore it is the invariable law that cool

air sinks, thus replacing the warmer air below. Thus,

whenever cool air enters a warm room, it sinks downwardand takes the place of an equal amount of the warmer air,

which is constantly tending upward and outward. This

principle of all fluids is illustrated by the following experi-

ment :

Take a glass jar about a foot high and three inches in

diameter, and with a wire to aid in placing it aright, sink

a small bit of lighted candle so as to stand in the centre at

the bottom. (Fig. 28.) The candle will heat the air of the

jar, which, will rise a little on one side, while the colder air

without will begin falling on the other side. Thesu twocurrents will so conflict as finally to cease, and then the

candle, having no supply of oxygen from fresh air, will be-

gin to go out. Insert a bit of stiff paper so as to divide

tlie mouth of the jar, and instantly the cold and warm air

are not in conflict as before, because a current is formedeach side of the paper ; the cold air descending on one side

and the warm air ascending the other side, as indicated bythe arrows. As long as the paper remains, the candle will

SCIENTIMC DOMESTIC VENTU^TION. 61

Fig. 89.

bum, and as booh as it is removed, it will begin to go out,

and can be restored by again insertiug tbe paper.

This illustrates tbe mode by which coal-mines are venti-

Fig. 28. lated when filled with carbonic

acid. A shaft divided into two

passages, (Fig. 29,) is let downinto the mine, where the air is

warmer than the outside air.

Immediately the colder air outside

presses down into the mine, through

the passage which is highest, being

admitted by the escape of an equal

piantity of the

warmer air,

which rises

through the low-

er passage of the

shaft, this being

the first availa-

ble opening for

it to rise through.

A current is thus

created, which

continues as long as the inside air is

warmer than that without the mine,

and no longer. Sometunes a fire is

kindled in the mine, in order to con-

tinue or increase the warmth, and

consequent i^pward current of its air.

This illustrates one oi the cases

where a " wise woman that huildeth

her house" is greatly needed. For,

owing to the ignorance of architects,

house-builders, and men in general,

they have been building school-

liouses, dwelling-houses, churches,


and colleges, with the most absurd and senseless contriv-

ances for ventilation, and all from not applying this simple

principle of science. On this point. Prof. Brewer, of the

Scientific School of Yale College, wi'ites thus :

" I have been in public buildings, (I have one in mind

now, filled with dormitories,) which cost half a million,

where they attempted to ventilate every room by a flue, long

and narrow, built into partition walls, and extending up into

tJie capacious garret of the fifth story. Every room in the

building had one such flue, with an opening into it at the

floor and at the ceiling. It is needless to say that the

whole concern was entirely useless. Had these flues been

of proper proportions, and properly divided, the desii-ed

ventilation would have been secured."

And this piece of ignorant folly was perpetrated in the

midst of learned professors, teaching the laws of fluids and

the laws of health.

A learned physician also thus wrote to the author of

this chapter :" The subject of the ventilation of our dwell-

ing-houses is one of the most important questions of our

times. How many thousands are victims to a slow suicide

and murder, the chief instrument of which is want of ven-

tilation ! How few are aware of the fact that every person,

every day, vitiates thirty-three hogsheads of the air, andthat each inspiration takes one fifth of the oxygen, andreturns as much carbonic acid, from every pair of lungs in

a room ! How few understand that after air has received

ten per cent of this fatal gas, if drawn into the lungs, it

can no longer take carbonic acid from the capillaries ! No

'

wonder there is so much impaired nervous and muscularenergy, so much scrofula, tubercles, catarrhs, dyspepsia,

and typhoid diseases. I hope you can do rûch to remedythe poisonous air of thousands and thousands of stove-

heated rooms."

In a cold climate and wintry weather, the grand im-pediment to ventilating rooms by opening doors or wir

SCIENTIFIC DOMESTIC VENTILATION. 6S

dows is the dangerous currents thus produced, which are

so injurious to the delicate ones that for their sake it cannot he done. Then, also, as a matter of economy, thepoor can not afford to practice a method which carries

off the heat generated by their stinted store of fuel.

Even in a warm season and climate, there are frequent

periods when the air without is damp and chilly, and yet

at nearly the same temperature as that in the house. Atsuch times, the opening of windows often has little effect

in emptying a room of vitiated air. The ventilating-flues,

such as are used in mines, have, in such cases, but little

influence ; for it is only when outside air is colder that a

current can be produced within by this method.

The most successful mode of ventilating a house is bycreating a current of warm air in a flue, into which an

opening is made at both the top and the bottom of a room,

while a similar opening for outside air is made at the op-

posite side of the room. This is the mode employed in che-

mical laboratories for removing smells and injurious gases.

The laboratorv-closet is closed with glazed doors, and has

an opening to receive pure air through a conductor from

without. The stove or furnace within has a pipe which joins

a larger cast-iron chimney-pipe, which is warmed by the

smoke it receives from this and other fires. This cast-iron

pipe is surrounded by a brick flue, through which air passes

from below to be warmed by the pipe, and thus an upward

current of warm air is created. Openings are then madeat the top and bottom of the laboratory-closet into the warm-

air flue, and the gases and smells are pressed by the colder

air into this flue, and are carried off in the current of warm air.

The same method is employed in the dwelling-house

shown in a preceding chapter. A cast-iron pipe is made

in sections, which are to be united, and the whole fastened

at top and bottom in the centre of the warm-air flue by

ears extending to the bricks, and fastened when the flue is

in process of building. Projecting openings to receive the

64 THE HOVSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

Fig. 80.

pipes of the furnace, the laundry stove, and two stoves in

each story, should be provided, which must be closed when

not in use. A large opening is to be made into the warm-

air flue, and through this the kitchen stove-pipe is to pass,

and be joined to the cast-iron chimney-pipe. Thus the

smoke of the kitchen stove will warm the iron chimney-

pipe, and this will warm the air of the flue, causing a cm--

rent upward, and this current will draw the heat and smells

of cooking out of the kitchen

into the opening of the warm-

air flue. Every room sur-

rounding the chimney has an

opening at the top and bottom

into the warm-air flue for ven-

tilation, as also have the bath-

room and water-closets.

The writer has examined

the methods most employed

at the present time, which are

all modifications of the two

modes here described. Oneis that of Robinson, patented

by a Boston company, which

is a modification of the min-

ing mode. It consists of the

two ventilating tubes, such as

are employed in mines, united

in one shaft with a roof to

keep out rain, and a valve to

regulate the entrance and exit

of air, as illustrated in Fig.

30. This method works well

in certain circumstances, but

fails so often as to prove very unreliable. Aôther modeis that of Ruttan, which is eflected by heating air. This

also has certain advantages and disadvantages. But the

SCIENTIFIC DOMESTIC VENTILATION. 66

mode adopted for the preceding cottage plan is free from

the difficulties of both the above methods, while it will

BTirely ventilate every room in the house, both by day and

night, and at all seasons, without any risk to health, and re-

quiring no attention or care from the family.

By means of a very small amount of fuel in the kitchen

stove, to be described hereafter, the whole house can be

ventilated, and all the cooking done both in warm and cold

\reather. This stove will also warm the whole house, in the

Northern States, eight or nine months in the year. TwoFranklin stoves, in addition, vdll warm the whole house

during the three or four remaining coldest months.

In a warm climate or season, by means of the non-con-

ducting castings, the stove will ventilate the house and do

all the cooking, without imparting heat or smells to any

part of the house except the stove-closet.

At the close of this volume, drawings, prepared by Mr.

Lewis Leeds, are given, more fully to illustrate this mode

of warming and ventilation, and in so plain and simple a

form that any intelligent woman who has read this work

can see that the plan is properly executed, even with work-

men so entirely ignorant on this important subject as are

most house-builders, especially in the newer territories. In

the same article, directions are given as to the best modes

of ventilating houses that are already built without any

arrangements for ventilation.

V.

THE OONSTEtrOTION AND CASE OF 8T0TES, FXIRNA0K8, AND

OHIMNETS.

If all American housekeevers could be taught how to

select and manage the most economical and convenient

apparatus for cooking and for warming a house, manymiUions now wasted by ignorance and neglect would be

saved. Every woman should be taught the scientific prin-

ciples in regard to heat, and then their application to prac-

tical purposes, for her own benefit, and also to enable her

to train her children and servants in this important duty

of homo life on which health and comfort so much de-

pend.

The laws that regulate the generation, diffusion, and pre-

servation of heat as yet are a sealed mystery to thousands

of young women who imagine they are completing a suit-

able education in courses of instruction from which most

that is practical in future domestic life is wholly excluded,

We therefore give a brief outline of some of the leading

scientific principles which every housekeeper should understand and employ, in order to perform successfully one

of her most important duties.

Concerning the essential nature of heat, and its intimate

relations with the other great natural forces, light, electri-

city, etc., we shall not attempt to treat, but sliall, for prac-

tical purposes, assume it to be a separate and independent

force.

Heat or caloric, then, has certain powers or principles.

Let us consider them :

STOVJSS, FURNACES, AND CHIMNEYS. Q't

First, we find Conduction, by which heat passes from oneparticle to anotlier next to it; as when one iend of a pokeris warmed by placing the other end in the fire. The bodies

which allow this power free course are called conductors,

and those which do not are named non-conductors. Metals

are good conductors ; feathers, wool, and furs are poor con-

ductors ; and water, air, and gases are non-conductors.

Another principle of heat is Convection, by which water,

air, and gases are warmed. This is, literally, the process

of conveying heat fi-om one portion of a fluid body to an-

other by currents resulting from changes of temperature.

It is secured by bringing one portion of a liquid or gas

into contact with a heated surface, whereby it becomes

lighter and expanded in volume. In consequence, the

cooler and heavier particles above pressing downward,

the lighter ones rise upward, when the former, being

heated, rise in their turn, and give place to others again

descending from above. Thus a constant motion of cur-

rents and interchange of particles is produced until, as in

a vessel of water, the whole body comes to an equal tem-

perature. Air is heated in the same way. In case of a

hot stove, the air that touches it is heated, becomes lighter,

and rises, giving place to cooler and heavier particles,

which, when heated, also ascend. It is owing to this pro-

cess that the air of a room is warmest at the top and coolest

at the bottom.

It is owing to this principle, also, that water and air

can not be heated by fire from above. For the particles

of these bodies, being non-conductors, do not impart heat

to each other ; and when the warmest are at the top, they

can not take the place of cooler and heavier ones below.

Another principle of heat (which it shares with light) is

Badiation, by which all things send out heat to surround-

ing cooler bodies. Some bodies will absorb radiated heat,

others will reflect it, and others allow it to pass through

them without either absorbing or reflecting Thus, black


Pig. 31.

and rough substances absorb beat, (or light,) colored andsmooth articles reflect it, wMle air allows it to pass through

without either absorbing or reflecting. It is owing to this,

that rough and black vessels boil water sooner than smooth

and light-colored ones.

Another principle is Befledion, by which heat radiated

to a surface is turned back from it when not absorbed or

allowed to pass through;just as a ball rebounds from a

wall;just as sound is thrown back from a hill, making

echo; just as rays of light are reflected from a mirror.

And, as with light, the

rays of heat are always

reflected from a surface

in an angle exactly cor-

responding to the direc-

tion in which it strikes

that surface. Thus, if

heated air comes to an

object perpendicularly

—

that is, at right angles, it will be reflected back in the

same line. If it strikes obliquely, it is reflected obliquely,

at an angle with the sur-

face precisely the same ^- ®"

as the angle with which

it first struck. And, of

course, if it moves to-

ward the surface and

comes, upon it in a line

having so small an angle

with it as to be almost

parallel with it, the heated air is spread wide and diffiised

through a larger space

than when the angles are

greater and the width of

reflection less.

The simplest mode of warming a house and cooking food

STOVES, FXJBNACES, AND CBIMNET8. 00

is by radiated heat fi-ora fires ; but this is the most wastefulmethod, as respects time, labor, and expense. The mos^t con-venient, economical, and labor-saving mode of employingheat is by convection, as applied in stoves and furnaces.

But for want of proper care and scientific knowledge this

method has proved very destructive to health. Whenwarming and cooking were done by open fires, houses werewell supplied with pure air, as is rarely the case in roomsheated by stoves. For such is the prevailing ignorance onthis subject that, as long as stoves save labor and warm the

air, the great majoi-ity of people, especially among the

poor, will use them in ways that involve debilitated con-

stitutions and frequent disease.

The most common modes of cooking, where open fires

are relinquished, are by the range and the cooking-stove.

The range is inferior to the stove in these respects : it is

less economical, demanding much more fuel ; it endangers

the dress of the cook while standing near for various ope-

rations; it requires more stooping than the stove while

cooking ; it will not keep a fire all night, as do the best

stoves ; it will not burn wood and coal equally well ; and

lastly, if it warms the kitchen sufficiently in winter, it is

too warm for summer. Some prefer it because the fumes

of cooking can be carried off; but stoves properly arranged

accomplish this equally well.

After extensive inquiry and many personal experiments,

the author has found a cooking-stove constructed on true

scientific principles, which unites convenience, comfort, and

economy in a remarkable manner. Of this stove, drawings

and descriptions will now be given, as the best mode of

illustrating the practical applications of these principles to

the art of cooking, and to show how much American wo-

men have sufiered and how much they have been imposed

upon for want of proper knowledge in this branch of theii

profession. And every woman can understand what fol-

lows with much less efibrt than young girls at high-schools


give to the first problems of Geometry—for whicli they will

never have any practical use, while attention to this prob-

lem of home 'affairs will cultivate the inteUect quite as

much as the abstract reasonings of Algebra and Geometry.

Fig. 34

A

Fig. 34 represents a portion of the interior of this cook-

ing-stove. First, notice the fire-box, which has corrugated'

(literally, wrinkled) sides, by which space is economized,

so that as much heating surface is secured as if they were

one third larger ; as the heat radiates from every part of

the undulating surface, which is one third greater in super-

ficial extent than if it were plane. The shape of the fire-

box also secures more heat by having oblique sides

—

which radiate more effectively into the oven beneath than

if they were perpendicular, as illustrated below—while

also it is sunk into the oven, so as to radiate from three

instead of from two sides, as in most other stoves, the

STOVES, FURNACES, AND CHIMNEYS. 71

front of whose fire-boxes with their grates are built so as

to be the front of the stove itself.

The oven is the space under and around the back and

p. gg front sides of the fire-box. pig. ae.

The oven-bottom is not

'box /'-'introduced in the dia-

gram, but it is a horizon-' • '

i' \\ '-.

'tal plate between the fire-

box and what is represen-

FIREBOX

OVEN

Model Stove. ted aS the "flue-plate,"O'înary stove.

which separates the oven from the bottom of the stove.

The top of the oven is the horizontal corrugated plate

passing from the rear edge of the fire-box to the back flues.

These are three in number—the back centre-flue, which

is closed to the heat and smoke coming over the oven from

the fire-box by a damper—and the two back corner-flues.

Down these two corner-flues passes the current of hot air

and smoke, having first drawn across the corrugated oven-

top. The arrows show its descent through these flues,

from which it obliquely strikes and passes over the flue-

plate, then under it, and then out through the centre back-

flue, which is open at the bottom, up into the smoke-pipe.

The flue-plate is placed obliquely, to accumulate heat by

forcing and compression ; for the back space where the

smoke enters from the corner-flues is largest, and decreases

toward the front, so that the hot current is compressed in a

narrow space, between the oven-bottom and the flue-plate

at the place where the bent arrows are seen. Here again

it enters a wider space, under the flue-plate, and proceeds

to another narrow one, between the flue-plate and the

bottom of the stove, and thus is compressed and re-

tained longer than if not impeded by these various con-

trivances. The heat and smoke also strike the plate

obliquely, and thus, by reflection from its surface, impart

more heat than if the passage was a horizontal one.

The external radiation is regulated by the use of non-

72 THE BOnSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

conducting plaster applied to the flue-plate and to the sides

of the corner-flues, so that the heat is prevented from radi-

ating in any direction except toward the oven. The doors,

sides, and bottom of the stove are lined with tin casings,,

which hold a stratum of air, also a non-conductor. These are

so arranged as to be removed whenever the weather becomes

cold, so that the heat may then radiate into the kitchen.

Tlie outer edges of the oven are also sunilarly protected from

loss of heat by tin casings and air-spaces, and the oven-doors

opening at the front of the store are provided with the same

economical savers of heat. High tin covers placed on the

top prevent the heat from radiating above the stove.

These are exceedingly useful, as the space under them is

well heated and arranged for baking, for heating irons,

and many other incidental necessities. Cake and pies can

be baked on the top, while the oven is used for bread or

for meats. When all the casings and covers are on, almost

all the heat is confined within the stove, and whenever

heat for the room is wanted, opening the front oven-doors

turns it out into the kitchen.

Another contrivance is that of ventilating-holes in the

front doors,' through which fresh , air is brought into the

oven. This secures several purposes : it carries off the

fumes of cooking meats, and prevents the mixing of flavors

when different articles are cooked in the oven ; it drives

the heat that accumulates between the fire-box and front

doors down around the oven, and equalizes its heat, so that

articles need not be moved while baking ; and lastly, as

the air passes through the holes of the fire-box, it causes

the burning of gases in the smoke, and thus increases heat.

When wood or bituminous coal is used, perforated metal

linings are put in the fire-box, and the result is the burn-

ing of smoke and gases that otherwise would pass into the

chimney. This is a great discovery in the economy of

fuel, which can be applied in many ways.

Heretofore, most cooking-stoves have had dumping-grates,

STOVUS, FUKNACES, AND CHIJIAETS. 73

wliieli are inconvenient from the dust prodneod, are uneco-

nomical in the use of fuel, and disadvantageous from too

many or too loose joints. But recently this stove has been

provided with a dumping-grate which also will sift ashes,

and can be cleaned without dust and the other objection-

able features of dumping-grates. A further account of this

Btove, and the mode of purchasing and using it, will be

given at the close of the book.

Those who are taught to manage the stove properly

keep the fire going all night, and equally well with woodor coal, thus saving the expense of kindling and the trouble

of starting a new fire. When the fuel is of good quality,

all that is needed in the morning is to draw the back-

damper, shake the grate, and add more fuel.

Another remarkable feature of this stove is the extension-

top, on which is placed a water reservoir, constantly heated

by the smoke as it passes from the stove, thi-ough one or two

uniting passages, to the smoke-pipe. Under this is placed

a closet for warming and keeping hot the dishes, vegetables,

meats, etc., while preparing for dinner. It is also very

useful in drying fruit ; and when large baking is required,

a small appended pot for charcoal turns it into a fine large

oven, that bakes as nicely as a brick oven.

Another useful appendage is a common tin oven, in

which roasting can be done in front of the stove, the oven-

doors being removed for the purpose. The roast will be

done as perfectly as by an open fire.

This stove is furnislied with pipes for heating water, like

the water-back of ranges, and these can be taken or left

out at pleasure. So also the top covers, the baking-stool

and pot, and the summer-back, bottom, and side-casingt*

can be used or omitted as preferred.

Fig. 37 exhibits the stove completed, with all its appen-

dages, as they might be employed in cooking for a large

number.

Its capacity, convenience, and economy as a stove may


be estimated by the following fact : WitK proper manage-

ment of dampers, one ordinary-sized coal-hod of anthracite

coal will, for twenty-four hours, keep the stove running,

keep seventeen gallons of water hot at aU hours, bake pies

Kg. 37.

~ll'll 1

-^ j'.fn

and puddings in the warm closet, heat flat-irons under the

back cover, boil tea-kettle and one pot under the front

cover, bake bread ia the oven, and cook a turkey in the

tin roaster in trout. The author has numerous friends,

who, after trying the best ranges, have dismissed them for

this stove, and in two or three years cleared the whole ex-

pense by the saving of fuel. ^

The remarkable durability of this stove is another eco-

nomic feature. For in addition to its fine castings and

STOVES, FUBNACES, AND . OHIMNET8. 75

nice-fitting workmanship, all the parts liable to burn outare so protected by linings, and other contrivances easily

renewed, that the stove itself may pass from one genera-

tion to another, as do ordinary cliiumeys. The writer has

visited in families where this stove had been in constant

use for eighteen and twenty years, and was still as good as

new. In most other families the stoves are broken, bnrnt-

ont, or thrown aside for improved patterns every four,

five, or six years, and sometimes, to the knowledge of the

wi'iter, still oftener.

Another excellent point is that, although it is so com-

plicated in its various contrivances as to demand intelli-

gent management in order to secure all its advantages, it

also can be used satisfactorily even when the mistress and

maid are equally careless and ignorant of its distinctive

merits. To such it offers all the advantages of ordinary

good stoves, and is extensively used by those who take no

pains to understand and apply its peculiar advantages.

But the writer has managed the stove herself in all the

details of cooking, and is confident that any housekeeper

of common sense, who is instructed properly, and who also

aims to have her kitchen affairs managed with strict eco-

nomy, can easily train any servant who is willing to learn,

80 as to gain the full advantages offered. And even with-

out any instructions at all, except the printed directions

sent with the stove, ah intelligent woman can, by due

attention, though not without, both manage it, and teach

her children and servants to do likewise. And whenever

this stove has failed to give the highest satisfaction, it has

been, either because the housekeeper was not apprized of

its peculiarities, or because she did not give suflicient

attention to the matter, or was not able or willing to super-

intend and direct its management.

The consequence has been that, in families where this

stove has been understood and managed aright, it has

saved nearly one half of the fuel that would be used in ordi-


nary stoves, constructed with the usual disregard of scien-

tific and economic laws. And it is because we know this

particular stove to be convenient, reliable, and economi-

cally efficient beyond ordinary experience, in the important

housekeeping element of kitchen labor, that we devote to

it so much space and pains to describe its advantageous

points.

OHIttNEYS.

One of the most serious evils in domestic life is often

found in chimneys that will not properly draw the smoke

of a fire or stove. Although chimneys have been building

for a thousand years, the artisans of the present day seem

strangely ignorant of the true method of constructing them

so as always to carry smoke upward instead of downward.

It is rarely the case that a large house is built in which

there is not some flue or chimney which " will not draw."

One of the reasons why the stove described as excelling all

others is sometimes cast aside for a poorer one is, that it

requires a properly constructed chimney, and multitudes

of women do not know how to secure it. The writer in

early life shed many a bitter tear, drawn forth by smoke

from an ill-constructed kitchen-chimney, and thousands

all over the land can report the same experience.

The following are some of the causes and the remedies

for this evil.

The most common cause of poor chimney draughts is too

large an opening for the fireplace, either too wide or too

high in front, or having too large a throat for the smoke.

In a lower story, the fireplace should not be larger than

thirty inches wide, twenty-five inches high, and fifteen deep.

In the story above, it should be eighteen inches square and

fifteen inches deep.

Another cause is too short a flue, and the remedy is to

lengthen it. As a general rule, the longer the flue the

stronger the draught. But in calculating the length of a

STOVES, FURNACES, AND CSIMNETS. 71

flue, reference must be "had to side-flues, if any open into it.

Where this is the case, the length of the main flue is to beconsidered as extending only from the bottom to the point

where the apper flue joins it, and where the lower will

receive air from the upper flue. If a smoky flue can not

be increased in length, either by closiag an upper flue or

lengthening the chimney, the fireplace must be contracted

80 that all the air near the fire will be heated and thus

pressed upward.

If a flue has more than one opening, in some cases it is

impossible to seciu-e a good draught. Sometimes it will

work well and sometimes it will not. The only safe rule is

to have a separate flue to each flre.

Another cause of poor draughts is too tight a room, so

that the cold air from without can not enter to press the

warm air up the chimney. The remedy is to admit a small

current of air from without.

Another cause is two chimneys in one room, or ia rooms

opening together, ia which the draught in one is muchstronger than in the other. In this case, the stronger

draught wiU draw away from the weaker. The remedy is,

for each room to have a proper supply of outside air ; or,

in a single room, to stop one of the chimneys.

Another cause is the too close vicinity of a hill or build-

ings higher than the top of the chimney, and the remedy

for this is to raise the chimney.

Another cause is the descent, into unused fireplaces, of

smoke from other chimneys near. The remedy is to close

the throat of the unused chimney.

Another cause is a door opening toward the fireplace,

on the same side of the room, so that its draught passes

along the wall and makes a current that- draws out the

smoke. The remedy is to change the hanging of the door

so as to open another way.

Another cause is strong winds. The remedy is a turn-

cap on top of the chimney.


Anotlier cause is the roughness of the inside of a chim-

ney, or projections which impede the passage of the smoke.

Every cliimney should be built of equal dimensions from

bottom to top, with no projections into it, with as few benda

as possible, and with the surface of the inside as smooth

as possible.

Another cause of poor draughts is openings into the

chimney of chambers for stove-pipes. The remedy is to

(jlose them, or insert stove-pipes that are in use.

Another cause is the falling out of brick in some part of

the chimney so that outer air is admitted. The remedy is

to close the opening.

The draught of a stove may be affected by most of these

causes. It also demands that the fireplace have a tight

fire-board, or that the throat be carefully filled. For neg-

lecting this, many a good stove has been thrown aside and

a poor one taken in its place.

If all young women had committed to memory these

causes of evil and their remedies, many a badly-built chim-

ney might have been cured, .and many smoke-drawn tears,

sighs, ill-tempers, and irritating words avoided.

But there are dangers in this direction which demand

special attention. Where one flue has two stoves or fire-

places, in rooms one above the other, in certain states of the

atmosphere, the lower room, being the warmer, the cold^

air and carbonic acid in the room above will pass down into

the lower room through the opening for the stove or the

fireplace.

This occurred not long since in a boarding-school, whenthe gas in a room above flowed into a lower one, and suffo-

cated several to death. This room had no mode of venti-

lation, and several persons slept in it, and were thus sti-

fled. Professor Brewer states a similar case in the family

of a relative. An anthracite stove was used in the upper

room ; and on one still, dose night, the gas from this stove

descended through the flue and theopening into aroombelow

STOVES, FUBNACE8, AND CHIMNEYS. 79

and stifled two persons to insensibility, though, by properefforts, their lives were saved. Many such cases have oc-

c;;irred where rooms have been thus filled with poisonousgases, and servants and children destroyed, or their consti-

tutions injured, simply because housekeepers are not pro-

perly instructed in this important branch of their profession.

FXTEITACES.

There is no improved mechanism in the economy of

domestic life requiring more intelligent management than

furnaces. Let us then consider some of the principles in-

volved.

The earth is heated by radiation from the sun. The air

is not warmed by the passage of the sun's heat through it,

but by convection from the earth, in the same way that it

is warmed by the surfaces of stoves. The lower stratum

of air is warmed by the earth and by objects which have

been warmed by radiated heat from the sun. The par-

ticles of air thus heated expand, become lighter, and rise,

being replaced by the descent of the cooler and heavier

particles from above, which, on being warmed also rise,

and give place to others. Owing to this process, the air

is warmest nearest the earth, and grows cooler as height

increases.

The air has a strong attraction for water, and always

holds a certain quantity as invisible vapor. The warmerthe air, the more moisture it demands, and it will draw it

from all objects within reach. The air holds water accord-

ing to its temperature. Thus, at fifty-two 'egrees, Fah-

renheit's thermometer, it holds half the moisture it can

sustain ; but at thirty-six degrees, it will hold only one

eighty-sixth part. The earth and all plants and trees are

constantly sending out moisture ; and when the air has re-

ceived all it can hold, without depositing it as dew, it is

said to be satv/rated, and the point of temperature at which


dew begins to form, by condensation, upon tbe surface

of the earth and its vegetation, is called the dew-poimt.

When air, at a given temperature, has only forty per cent

of the moisture it requires for saturation, it is said to be

dry. In a hot summer day, the air wiU hold far more

moisture than in cool days. In summer, out-door air

rarely holds less than half its volume of water. In 1838,

at Cambridge, Massachusetts, and New-Haven, Connecti-

cut, at seventy degrees, Fahrenheit, the air held eighty per

cent of moisture.

In New-Orleans, the air often retains ninety per cent of

the moisture it is capable of holding ; and in cool days at

the North, in foggy weather, the air is sometimes wholly

saturated.

When air holds all the moisture it can, without deposit-

ing dew, its moisture is called 100. When it holds three

fourths of this, it is said to be at seventy-five per cent.

When it holds only one half, it is at fifty per cent. Whenit holds only one fourth, it is at twenty-five per

cent, etc.

Sanitary observers teach that the proper amoimt of mois-

ture iQ the air ranges from forty to seventy per cent of

oaturation.

Now, furnaces, which are of course used only in winter,

receive outside air at a low temperature, holding little

moisture ; and heating it greatly increases its demand for

"

moisture. This it sucks up, like a sponge, firom the walls

and furniture of a house. If it is taken into the humanlungs, it draws much of its required moisture from the body,

often causing dryness of lips and throat, and painfdlly af-

fecting the lungs. Prof. Brewer, of the Scientific School

of New-Haven, who has experimented extensively on this

subject, states that, while forty per cent of moisture is

needed in air to make it healthful, most stoves and furnaces

do not, by any contrivances, supply one half of this, or

not twenty per cent. He says most furnace-heated air is

STOVUS, FXmNACES, AND CBIMNETS. 81

dryer than is ever breathed in the hottest deserts of Sa-

hara.

Thus, for want of proper instruction, most Americanhousekeepers not only poison their families with carbonic

acid aiid starve them for want of oxygen, but also diminish

health and comfort for want of a due supply of moisture

in the air. And often when a remedy is sought, by evapo-

rating water in the furnace, it is without knowing that the

amount evaporated depends, not on the quantity of water

in the vessel, but on the extent of evaporating surface

exposed to the air. A quart of water in a wide shallow

pan will give more moisture than two gallons with a small

surface exposed to heat.

There is also no little wise economy inêxpense attained

by keeping a proper supply of moisture in the air. For

it is found that the body radiates its heat less in moist

than in dry air, so that a person feels as warm at a lower

temperature when the air has a proper supply of moisture,

as in a much higher temperature of dry air. Of course,

less fael is needed to^ warm a house when water is evapo-

rated in stove and furnace-heated rooms. It is said by those

who have experimented, that the saving in fael is twenty

per cent when the air is duly supplied with moisture.

There is a very ingenious instrument, called the hygrb-

deik, which indicates the exact amount of moisture in the

air. It consists of two thermometers side by side, one of

which has its bulb surrounded by floss-silk wrapping, which

is kept constantly wet by conmiunication with a cup of

water near it. The water around the bulb evaporates just

in proportion to the heat of the air around it. The chang-

ing of water to vapor draws heat from the nearest object,

and this being the bulb of the thermometer, the mercury

is cooled and sinks. Then the difference between th§ two

thermometers shows the amount of moisture in the air by

a pointer on a dial-plate constructed by simple mechanism

for this purpose.


There is one very important matter in regard to the use

of furnaces, which is thus stated by Professor Brewer

:

" I think it is a well-established fact that carbonic oxide

will pass through iron. It is always formed in great abun-

dance in any anthracite fire, but especially in anthracite

stoves and furnaces. Moreover, furnaces always leak, more

or less; how much they leak depending on the care and

skill with which they are managed. Carbonic oxide is

much more poisonous than carbonic acid. Doubtless some

carbonic oxide finds its way into all furnace-heated houses,

especially where anthracite is used; the amoimt varying

with the kind of furnace and its management. As to howmuch escapes into a room, and its' specific effect upon the

health of its occupants, we have no accurate data, no analy-

sis to show the quantity, and no observati ns to show the

relation between the quantity inhaled and the health of

those exposed ; all is mere conjecture upon this point ; but

the inference is very strong that it has a very injurious

effect, producing headaches, weariness, and other similar

symptoms." Eecent pamphlets lay the blame of all the bad effects

of anthracite furnaces and stoves to the carbonic oxide min-gled in the air. I think these pamphlets have a bad influ-

ence. Excessvue dryness also has bad effects. So also the

excessive heat in the evenings and coolness in the morningshas a share in these evils. But how much in addition iS

owing to carbonic oxide, we can not know, until we knowsomething of the actual amount of this gas in rooms, andas yet we know absolutely nothing definite. In fact, it will

be a difficult thing io provedThere are other difficulties connected with furnaces which

should be considered. It is necessary to perfect health that

an equal circulation of the blood be preserved. The great-

est impediment to this is keeping the head warmer than thefeet. This is especially to be avoided in a nation where thebrain is by constant activity drawing the blood from the

STOVUS, FUBNACES, AND CHIMNEYS. 83

extremities. And nowhere is tliis more important than

in schools, chm-ches, colleges, lectm-e and recitation-rooms,

where the 'brain is called into active exercise. And yet,

fmnace-heatcd rooms always keep the feet in the coldest

air, on cool floors, while the head is in the warmest air.

Another difficulty is the fact that all bodies tend to radi-

ate their heat to each other, till an equal temperature exists.

Thus, the human body is constantly radiating its heat to

the walls, floors, and cooler bodies ai'ound. At the same

time, a thermometer is afiected in the same way, radiating

its heat to cooler bodies around, so that it always marks a

lower degree of heat than actually exists in the warm air

around it. Owing to these facts, the injected air of a fur-

nace is always wanner than is good for the lungs, and muchwarmer than is ever needed in rooms warmed by radiation

from fires or heated surfaces. The cooler the air we inspire,

the more oxygen is received, the faster the blood circulates,

and the greater is the vigor imparted to brain, nerves, and

muscles.

Scientific men have been contriving various modes of

meeting these difficulties, and at the close of this volume

some results will be given to aid a woman in selecting and

managins: the most healthful and economical furnace, or in

providing some better method of warming a house. Someaccount will also be given of the danger involved in gas-

stoves, and some other recent inventions for cpokiag and

heating.

VI.

HOME DEOOKATION.

Haying duly arranged for the physical necessities of a

healthful and comfortable home, we next approach the

important subject of leauty in reference to the deco-

ration of houses. For while the aesthetic element must be

subordinate to the requirements of physical existence, and,

as a matter of expense, should be held of inferior con-

sequence to means of higher moral growth ; it yet holds

a place of great significance among the influences which

make home happy and attractive, which give it a constant

and wholesome power over the young, and contributes

much to the education of the entire household in refine-

ment, intellectual development, and moral sensibility.

Here we are met by those who tell us that of course

they want their houses handsome, and that, when they

get money enough, they intend to have them so, but at

present they are too poor, and because they are poor*

they dismiss the subject altogether, and live without any

regard to it.

"We have often seen people who said that they could not

afford to make their houses beautiful, who had spent upon

them, outside pr in, an aanount of money which did not

produce either beauty or comfort, and which, if judiciously

applied, might have made the house quite charming.

For example, a man, in building his house, takes a plan

of an architect. This plan includes, on the outside, a

number of what Andrew Fairservice called " curlywur-

SOME DECORATION. 86

lies" and. " wMgmaliries," which make the house neither

prettier nor more comfortable, and which take up a gooddeal of money. We would venture to say that we could

buy the chromo of Bierstadt's " Sunset in the Yo Semite

VaUey," and four others like it, for half the sum that

we have sometimes seen laid out on a very ugly, nar-

row, awkward porch on the outside of a house. Theonly use of this porch was to cost money, and to caxise

every body who looked at it to exclaim as they went by,

"What ever induced that man to put a thing like that

on the outside of his house ?"

Then," again, in the inside of houses, we have seen a

dwelliug looking very bald and bare, when a sufficient

sum of money had been expended on one article to have

made the whole very pretty : and it has come about in this

way.

We will suppose the couple who own the house to be in

the condition in which people generally are after they

have built a house—^having spent more than they could

afford on the building itself, and yet feeling themselves

under the necessity of getting some furnitm'e.

"Now," says the housewife, "I must at least have a

parlor-carpet. We must get that to begin with, and other

things as we go on." She goes to a store to look at carpets.

The clerks are smiling and obliging, and sweetly compla-

cent. The storekeeper, perhaps, is a neighbor or a Mend,and after exhibiting various patterns, he tells her of a

Brussels carpet he is selling wonderfully cheap—actuaJy a

dollar and a quarter less a yard than the usual price oi

Brussels, and the reason is that it is an unfashionable pat-

tern, "and he has a good deal of it, and wishes to close it off.

She looks at it and thinks it is not at all the kind of car-

pet she meant to buy, but then it is Brussels, and so cheap

'

And as she hesitates, her friend tells her that she will find

it " cheapest in the end—that one Brussels carpet will out-

last three or four ingrains," etc., etc.


The result of all this is, that she buys the Brussels carpet,

which, -with all its reduction in price, is one third dearer

than the ingrain would have been, and not half so pretty.

WTien she comes home, she will find that she has spent, wewill say eighty dollars, for a very homely carpet whose

greatest merit it is an affliction to remember—namely, that

it will outlast three ordinary carpets. And because she

has bought this carpet she can not afford to paper the walls

or put up any window-curtains, and cannot even begin to

think of buying any pictures.

Now let us see what eighty dollars could have done for

that room. "We will suppose, in the first place, she invests

in thirteen rolls of wall-paper of a lovely shade of buff,

which will malfe the room look sunshiny in the day-time,

and light up brilliantly in the evening. Thirteen rolls of

good satin paper, at thirty-seven cents a roll, expends four

dollars and eighty-one cents. A maroon bordering, madein imitation of the choicest French style, which can not at

a distance be told from it, can be bought for six cents a

yard. This will bring the paper to about five dollars and

a half; and our friends will give a day of their time to

putting it on. The room already begins to look furnished.

Then, let us cover the floor with, say, thirty yards of

good matting, at fifty cents a yard. This gives us a cairpet

for fifteen dollars. We are here stopped by the prejudice

that matting is not good economy, because it wears out so

soon. We humbly submit that it is precisely the thing for

a parlor, which is reserved for the reception-room of

friends, and for our own dressed leisure hours. Matting is

not good economy in a dining-room or a hard-worn sitting-

room ;but such a parlor as we are describing is precisely

the place where it answers to the very best advantage.

We have in mind one very attractive parlor which hasbeen, both for summer and winter, the daily sitting-roomfor the leisure hours of a husband and wife, and familyof children, where a plain straw matting has done ser-

SOME DECORATION. 87

vice for seyen years. That parlor is in a city, and these

friends are in the habit of receiving visits from people wholive upon velvet and Brusssls ; but they prefer to spend the

money which such carpets would cost on other modes of

€mbelKshment ; and this parlor has often been cited to us

as a very attractive room.

And now om- friends, having got thus far, are requtested

to select some one tint or color which shall be the prevail-

ing one in the furniture of the room. Shall it be green ?

Shall it be blue ? Shall it be crimson ? To carry on our

illustration, we will choose green, and we proceed with it

to create furniture for our room. Let us imagine that onone side of the fireplace there be, as there is often, a recess

about six feet long and three feet deep. Fill this recess

with a rough frame with four stout legs, one foot high, and

upon the top of the frame have an elastic rack of slats.

Make a mattress for this, or, if you wish to avoid that trou-

ble, you can get a nice mattress for the sum of two dollars,

made of cane-shavings or husks. Cover this with a green

English furniture print. The glazed English comes at

about twenty-five cents a yard, the glazed French at

seventy-five cents a yard, and a nice article of yard-wide

French twill (very strong) is from seventy-five to eighty

cents a yard.

With any of these cover your lounge. Make two large,

square pillows of the same substance as the mattress, and

set up at the back. If you happen to have one or two

feather pillows that you can spare for the purpose, shake

them down into a square shape and cover them with the

same print, and you will then have four pillows for your

lounge—one at each end, and two at the back, and you

will find it answers for all the purposes of a sofa.

It will be a very pretty thing, now, to cut out of the

same material as your lounge, sets of lambrequins (or, as

they are called, lamberJcins,) a kind of pendent curtain-top,

as shown iu the illustration, to put over the windows,


which are to be embellished with white musHn curtains.

The cornices to your windows can be simply strips of

wood covered with paper to match the bordering of your

room, and theFig 38 1 -u» ^ lambrequins,

made of chintz

like the lounge,

can be trimmed

with fringe or

gimp of the same

color. The pat-

terns ofthese can

be varied accord-

ing to fancy, but

simple designs

are usually the

prettiest. A tas-

sel at the lowest

point improves

the appearance.

The curtains

can be made ofplain white muslin, or some of the many styles that come forthis purpose. If plain muslin is used, you can ornamentthem with hems an inch in width, in which insert a strip ofgmgham or chambray of the same color as your chintz.This will wash with the curtains without losing its color, orshould it fade, it can easily be drawn out and replaced.

'

The influence of white-muslin curtains in giving an airof grace and elegance to a room is astonishing. Whitecurtains really create a room out of nothing. No matterhow coarse the muslin, so it be white and hang in gracefulfolds, there is a charm in it that supplies the want of mul-titudes of other things.

Very pretty curtain-musHn can be bought at thirty-seven cents a yard. It requires six yards for a window.'

SOME DECORATION.

Let your men-folk knock up for you, out of rough, un-planed boards, some ottoman frames, as described in Chap-ter II. ; stuff the tops with just the same material as the

lounge, and cover them with the self-same chintz.

Now you

have, sup-

pose your

selectedcolor to

be green,

a greenlounge in

the corner

and two

green otto-

mans; youhave white

muslin cur-

tains, with

green 1am-

brequinsand borders, and your room already looks furnished.

If you have in the house any broken-down arm-chair, re-

posing in the oblivion of the garret, draw it out—drive a

nail here and there to hold it firm—stuff and pad, and

stitch the padding through with a long upholsterer's nee-

dle, and cover it with the chintz like your other furni-

ture. Presto—you create ah easy-chair.

Thus can broken and disgraced furniture reappear, and,

being put into uniform with the general suit of your

room, take a new lease of life.

If you want a centre-table, consider this—^that any kind

of table, well concealed beneath the folds of handsome

drapery, of a color coiTesponding to the general hue of the room,

will look well. Instead of going to the cabinet-maker and

paying from thirty to forty dollars upon a little, narrow,


cold, marble-topped stand, that gives just room enough to

hold a lamp and a book or two, reflect within yourself

what a centre-table is made for. If you have in your

house a good, broad, generous-topped table, take it, cover

it with an ample cloth of green broadcloth. Such a cover,

two and a half yards square, of fine green broadcloth,,

figured with black and with a pattern-border of grape-

leaves, has been bought for ten dollars. In a room we wol

of, it covers a dheap piae table, such as you may buy foi

four or five dollars any day ; but you will be astonished

to see how handsome an object this table makes under its

green drapery. Probably you could make the cover more

cheaply by getting the cloth and trimming its edge with a

handsome border, selected for the purpose ; but either way,

it will be an economical and useful ornament. "We set

down our centre-table, therefore, as consisting mainly of a

nice broadcloth cover, matching our curtains and lounge.

We are sure that any one with " a heart that is hum-ble" may command such a centre-table and cloth for fif-

teen dollars or less, and a family of five or six may all sit

and work, or read, or write around it, and it is capable of

entertaining a generous allowance of books and knick-

knacks.

Tou have now for your parlor the following figures

:

Wall-paper and border, $5 50

Thirty yards matting, 15 00

Centre-table and cloth, 15 00

Muslin for three windows, 6 Y5

Thirty yards green English chintz, at 2S cents Y 60

Six chairs, at $2 each, 12 00

Total, . . : $61 75

Subtracted from eighty dollars, which we set down as

the price of the cheap, ugly Brussels carpet, we have our

whole room papered, carpeted, curtained, and furnished,

and we have nearly twenty dollars remaining for pictures.

BOMB DECORATION. 91

Fig. 40.

As a little suggestion in regard to the selection, you canget Miss Oakley's charming little cabinet picture of" The Little Scrap-Book Maker" for $7 50Eastman Johnson's " Barefoot Boy," (Prang) 5 00Newman's " Blue-fringed Gentians," (Prang) 6 00Bierstadt's " Sunset in the Yo Semite Valley," (Prang) 12 00

Here are thirty dollars' worth of really admirable

pictures of some of our best American artists, fromwhich you can choose at your leisure. By sending to anyleading picture-dealer, lists of pictures and prices will be

forwarded to you. These chromes, being all varnished,

can wait for frames until you can afford them. Or, what

is better, becaiise it is at once cheaper and a means of edu-

cating the ingenuity and the taste, you can make for your-

selves pretty rustic frames in various modes. Take a very

thin board, of the right size and

shape, for the foundation or

" mat ;" saw out the inner oval

or rectangular form to suit the

picture. Nail on the edge a rustic

frame made of branches of hard,

seasoned wood, and garnish the

corners with some pretty device

;

such, for instance, as a cluster of

acorns ; or, in place of the branch-

es of trees, fasten on with gluo

small pine cones, with larger ones for corner ornaments.

Or use the mosses of the wood or

ocean shells for this purpose. It

may be more convenient to get the

mat or inner moulding from a

framer, or have it made by your

carpenter, with a groove behind to

hold a glass. Here are also picture-

frames of pretty effect, and very

simply made. The one in Fig. 42

Fig. 41.


is made of either light or dark wood, neat, thin, and not

very wide, with the ends simply-broken off, or cut so as to

resemble a roughFis-42- break. The other

is white pine, sawn

into simple form,

well smoothed, and

marked with a deli-

cate black tracery,

as suggested in Fig.

43. This should

also be varnished,

then it will take a

rich, yellow tinge,

which harmonizes

admirably withchromes, and light-

ens up engravings

to singular advan-

tage. Besides the

American and the higher range of German and Eng-

lish chromos, there are very many pretty little French

chromos, which can be had at

prices from $1 to $5, including

black walnut frames.

We have been through this

calculation merely to show our

readers how much beautiful

effect may be produced by a

wise disposition of color and

skill in arrangement. If any

of our friends should ever carry

it out, they will find that the

buff paper, with its dark, narrow border ; the green chintz

repeated in the lounge, the ottomans, and lambrequins;

the flowing, white curtains; the broad, generous centre-

Fig. 43.

BOME DECORATION. 93

table, draped with its ample green cloth, will, when ar-

ranged together, produce an effect of grace and beautyfar beyond what any one piece or even half a dozen pieces

of expensive cabinet farniture could. The great, simple

principle of beauty illustrated in this room is harmony ofcolor.

You can, in the same way, mate a red room by using

Turkey red for your draperies ; or a blue room by using

blue' chintz. Let your chintz be of a small pattern, and

one that is decided in color.

We have given the plan of a room with matting on the

floor because that is absolutely the cheapest cover. Theprice of thirty yards plain, good ingrain carpet, at $1.50

per yard, would be forty-five dollars; the difference be-

tween forty-five and fifteen dollars would furnish a room

with pictures such as we have instanced. However, the

same programme can be even better carried out with a

green ingrain carpet as the foundation of the color of the

room.

Our friends, who lived seven years upon matting, con-

trived to give their parlor in winter an effect of warmth

and color by laying down, in front of the fire, a large

square of carpeting, say three breadths, four yards long.

This covered the gathering-place around the fire where the

winter circle generally sits, and gave an appearance of

warmth to the room.

If we add this piece of carpeting to the estimates for

our room, we still leave a margin for a picture, and make

tlie programme equally adapted to summer and winter.

Besides the chromos, which, when well selected and of the

host class, give the charm of color which belongs to expen-

sive paintings, there are engravings which finely reproduce

much of the real spirit and beauty of the celebrated pic-

tures of the world. And even this does not exhaust the

resources of economical art ; for there are few of the

renowned statues, whether of antiquity or of modern times,


that have not been accurately copied in plaster casts ; and

a few statuettes, costing perhaps five or six dollars each,

will give a really elegant finish to your rooms—providing

always that they are selected with discrimination and

taste.

The educating influence of these works of art can hardly

be over-estimated. Surrounded by such suggestions of the

beautiful, and such reminders of history and art, children

are constantly trained to correctness of taste and refine-

ment of thought, and stimulated—sometimes to efforts at

artistic imitation, always to the eager and intelligent in-

quiry about the scenes, the places, the incidents represented.

Just here, perhaps, we are met by some who grant all

that we say on the subject of decoration by works of art,

and who yet impatiently exclaim, " But I have no moneyto spare for any thing of this sort. I am condemned to an

absolute bareness, and beauty in my case is not to be

thought of"

Are you sure, my friend ? If you live in the country, or

can get into the country, and have your eyes opened and

ybur wits about you, your house need not be condemned

to an absolute bareness. Not so long as the woods are

fiill of beautiful ferns and mosses, while every swampshakes and nods with tremulous grasses, need you feel

yourself aii utterly disinherited child of nature, and de-

prived of its artistic use.

For example : Take an old tin pan condemned to the

retired list by reason of holes in the bottom, get twenty-five

cents' worth of green paint for this and other purposes, and

paint it. The holes in the bottom are a recommendation

for its new service. If there are no holes, you must drill

two or three, as drainage is essential. Now put a layer

one inch de^p of broken charcoal and potsherds over the

bottom, and then soil, in the following proportions :

Two fourths wood-soil, such as you find in forests, undertrees.

SOME DECORATION. 95

One fourth clean sand.

One fourth meadow-soil, taken from under fresh turf.

Mix with this some charcoal dust.

In this soil plant all sorts of ferns, together with somefew swamp-grasses ; and around the edge put a border of

money-plant or periwinkle to hang over. This will need

to be watered once or twice a week, and it will grow and

thrive all summer long in a corner of your room. Should

you prefer, you can suspend it by wires and make a hang-

ing-basket. Ferns and wood-grasses need not have sun-

shine—they grow well in shadowy places.

On this same principle you can convert a salt-box or an

old drum of figs into a hanging-basket. Tack bark and

pine-cones and moss upon the outside of it, drill holes and

pass wires through it, and you have a woodland hanging-

basket, which will hang and grow in any corner of your

house.

"We have been into rooms which, by the simple disposi-

tion of articles of this kind, have been made to have an air

so poetical and attractive

that they seemed more

like a nymph's cave than

any thing in the real

world.

Another mode of dispo-

sing of ferns is this : Take

a flat piece of board sawed

out something like a

shield, with a hole at the

top for hanging it up.

Upon the board nail a

wire pocket made of an

ox-muzzle flattened on

one side; or make some-

thing of the kind with stiff wire. Line this with a

sheet of close moss, which appears green behind the wire

rig. ^


net-work. Then you fill it with loose, spongy moss, such

as you find in swamps, and plant therein great plumes

of fern and various swamp-grasses ; they will continue to

grow there, and hang gracefully over. When watering,

set a pail under for it to drip into. It needs only to keep

this moss always damp, and to sprinkle these ferns occa-

sionaliy with a whisk-broom, to have a most lovely orna-

ment for your room or hall.

The use of ivy in decorating a room is beginning to be

generally acknowledged. It needs to be planted in the

kind of soil we have described, in a well-drained pot or

box, and to have its leaves thoroughly washed once or

twice a year in strong suds made with soft-soap, to. free it

from dust and scale-bug ; and an ivy will live and thrive

and wind about in a room, year in and year out, will grow

around pictures, and do almost any thing to oblige you that

you can suggest to it. For instance, in a March number of

Hearth and Rome,''' there is a picture of the most delightful

library-window imaginable, whose chief charm consists in

the running vines that start from a longitudinal box at the

bottom of the window, and thence clamber up and about

the casing and across the rustic frame-work erected for its

convenience. On the opposite page we present another

plain kind of window, ornamented with a variety of these

rural economical adornings.

In the centre is a "Ward's case. On one side is a pot of

Fuchsia. On the other side is a Calla Lily. In the hang-

ing-baskets and on the brackets are the ferns and flowers

that flourish in the deep woods, and around the window is

the ivy, running from two boxes ; and, in case the windowhas some sun, a N'asturtion may spread its bright blossoms

among the leaves. Then, in the winter, when there is less

sun, the Striped Spider-wort, the Smilax and the Saodfraga

* A beautifully illustrated agricultural and family weekly paper, edited

by Donald G. Mitchell (Ik Marvel) and Mrs. H. B. Stowe.

Fig. 46.

-'Bit-'


Samentosa (or Wandering Jew) may be substituted. Pretty

brackets can be made of common pine, ornamented with

odd-growing twigs or mosses or roots, scraped and varnished,

or in their native state.

A beautiful ornament for a room with pictures is Gen-

man ivy. Slips of this will start without roots in bottles of

water. Slide the bottle behind the picture, and the ivy will

seem to come from fairyland, and hang its verdure in all

manner of pretty curves around the picture. It may then

be trained to travel toward other ivy, and thus aid in form-

ing green cornice along the ceiling. We have seen some

rooms that had an ivy cornice around the whole, giving

the air of a leafy bower.

There are some other odd devices to ornament a room.

For example, a sponge, kept wet by daily immersion, can be

iilled with flax-seed and suspended by a cord, when it will ere

long be covered with verdure and afterward with flowers.

A sweet potato, laid in a bowl of water on a bracket, or

still better, suspended by a knitting-needle, run through or

laid across the bowl half ill the water, will, in due time, makea beautiful verdant ornament. A large carrot, with the

smallest half cut off, scooped out to hold water and then

suspended with cords, will send out graceful shoots in rich

profusion.

Half a cocoa-nut shell, suspended, will hold earth or water*

for plants and make a pretty hanging-garden.

It may be a very proper thing to direct the ingenuity

and activity of children into the making of hanging-baskets

and vases of rustic work. The best foundations are the

cheap wooden bowls, which are quite easy to get, and the

walks of chilên in the woods can be made interesting bytheir bringing home material for this rustic work. Different

colored twigs and sprays of trees, such as the bright scarlet

of the dog-wood, the yellow of the willow, the black of the

birch, and the silvery gray of the poplar, may be combinedin fanciful net-work For this sort of work, no other in-

SOME DECOBATIOir. 99

Fig. 46.

vestment is needed than a hammer and an assortment ofdifferent-sized tacks, and beautiful results will be produced.

Fig. 46 is a stand for

flowers, made of roots,

scraped and varnished.

But the greatest andcheapest and most de-

lightful fountain of

beauty is a " Wardcase."

lôw, immediately all

our economical friends

give up in despair.

"Ward's cases sell all

the way along from

eighteen to fifty dol-

lars, and are, like every

thing else in this lower

world, regarded as the

sole perquisites of the

rich.

Let us not be too sure. Plate-glass, and hot-house plants,

and rare patterns, are the especial inheritance of the rich

;

but any family may command all the requisites of a Wardcase for a very small sum. Such a case is a small' glass

closet over a well-drained box of soil. You make a Wardcase on a small scale when you turn a tumbler oyer a plant.

The glass keeps the temperature moist and equable, and

preserves the plants from dust, and the soil being well

drained, they live and thrive accordingly. The requisites

of these are the glass top and the bed of well-drained soil.

Suppose you have a common cheap table, four feet long

and two wide. , Take off the top boards of your table, and

with them board the bottom across tight and firm ; then

line it with zinc, and you will have a sort of box or sink on

legs. Now make a top of common window-glass such as


you would get for a cucmnber-frame ; let it be two and a.

half feet high, with a ridge-pole like a house, and a slant-

ing roof of glass-

I'ig- *'''• resting on this

ridge-pole ; on

one, end let there

be a door two feet

square.

We have seen

aWard case madein this way, in

which the capa-

bilities for pro-

ducing ornamen-

tal effect were

greatly beyond

many of the most

elaborate ones of

the shops. It was

large, and roomy,

and cheap. Com-

mon window-sash and glass are not dear, and any man with

moderate ingenuity could fashion such a glass closet for

his wife ; or a woman, not having such a husband, can do

it herself.

The sink or box part must have in the middle of it a hole

of good size for drainage. In preparing for the reception

of plants, first turn a plant-saucer over this hole, which mayotherwise become stopped. Then, as directed for the other

basket, proceed with a layer of broken charcoal and pot-

sherds for drainage, two inches deep, and prepare the soil as

directed above, and add to it some pounded charcoal, or

the scrapings of the charcoal-bin. In short, more or less

charcoal and charcoal-dust is always in order in the treat-

ment of these moist subjects, as it keeps them from fer-

menting and growing sour.

HOME BECORATION. 101

Now for filling the case.

Our own native forest-ferns liave a period in the wintei

months when they cease to grow. They are very particu-

lar in asserting their right to this yearly nap, and will not,

on any consideration, grow for you out of their appointed

season.

Nevertheless, we shall tell you what we have tried our-

selves, because greenhouse ferns are expensive, and often

great cheats when you have bought them, and die on your

hands in the most reckless and shameless manner. If you

make a "Ward case in the spring, your ferns will grow

beautifully in it all summer ; and iu the autumn, though they

stop growing, and cease to throw out leaves, yet the old

leaves will remain fresh and green tUl the time for starting

the new ones in the spring.

But, supposing you wish to start your case in the fall,

out of such things as you can find in the forest ; by search-

ing carefully the rocks and clefts and recesses of the forest,

you can find a quantity of beautiful ferns whose leaves the

frost has not yet assailed. Gather them carefully, remem-

bering that the time of the plant's sleep has come, and that

you must make the most of the leaves it now has, as you

will not have a leaf more from it till its waking-up time

in February or March. But we have succeeded, and you

wni succeed, in making a very charming and picturesque

collection. You can make in your Ward case lovely lit-

tle grottoes with any bits of shells, and minerals, and rocks

you may have;you can lay down, here and there, fra,g-

ments of broken looking-glass for the floor of your grottoes,

and the effect of them will be magical. A square of look-

ing-glass introduced into the back side of your case will

produce charming effects.

The trailing arbutus or May-flower, if cut up carefully

ill sods, and put into this Ward case, will come into bloom

there a month sooner, than it otherwise would, and gladden

your eyes and heart.

X02 THE HOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

In the fall, if you can find tlie tufts of eye-bright or

houstonia cerulia, and mingle them in with your mosses,

you will find them blooming before winter is well over.

But among the most beautiful things for such a case is

the partridge-berry, with its red pbmis. The berries swell

and increase in the moist atmosphere, and become intense

in color, forming an admirable ornament.

Then the ground pine, the princess pine, and various

nameless pretty things of the woods, all fiourish in these

little conservatories. In getting your sod of trailing arbu-

tus, remember that this plant forms its buds in the fall. Youmust, therefore, examiae your sod carefally, and see if the

buds are there ; otherwise you will find no blossoms in the

spring.

There are one or two species of violets, also, that form

their buds in the fall, and these too, will blossom early for

you.

Wehave never tried the wild anemones, the crowfoot, etc.

;

but as they all do well in moist, shady places, we recom

mend hopefully the experiment of putting some of themin.

A Ward case has this recommendation over commonhouse-plants, that it takes so little time and care. If well

made in the outset, and thoroughly drenched with water

when the plants are first put in, it will after that need

only to be watered about once a month, and to be ventilated

by occasionally leaving open the door for a half-hour or

hour when the moisture obscures the glass and seems ia

excess.

To women embarrassed with the care of little children,

yet longing for the refreshment of something growing andt/eautiful, this indoor garden will be an untold treasure.

The glass defends the plant from the inexpedient intermed-

dling of little fingers ; while the little eyes, just on a level

with the panes of glass, can look through and learn to enjoythe beautifal, silent miracles of nature.

SOME DECORATION. 103

For an invalid's chamber, such a case would be an inde-

iBcribable comfort. It is, in fact, a fragment of the green

woods brought in and silently growing ; it will refresh

many a weary hour to watch it.

VII.

THE OAEE OF HEAiTH.

Theee 18 no point where a woman is more liable to

suflfer from a want of knowledge and experience than in

reference to the health of a family committed to her care.

Many a young lady who never had any charge of the sick

;

who never took any care of an infant ; who never obtained

information on these subjects from books, or from the ex-

perience of others ; in short, with little or no preparation,

has found herself the principal attendant in dangerous, sick-

ness, the chief nurse of a feeble infant, and the responsible

guardian of the health of a whole family.

The care, the fear, the perplexity of a woman suddenly

called to these unwonted duties, none can realize till they

themselves feel it, or till they see some young and anxious

novice first attempting to meet such responsibilities. Toa woman of age and experience these duties often involve

a measure of trial and difficulty at times deemed almost in-'

supportable ; how hard, then, must they press on the heart

of the young and inexperienced

!

There is no really efficacious mode of preparing a

woman to take a rational care of the health of a family,

except by communicating that knowledge in regard to the

construction of the body and the laws of health which' is

the basis of the medical profession. Not that a womanshould undertake the minute and extensive investigation

requisite for a physician ; but she should gain a general

knowledge of first principles, as a guide to her judgmentin emergencies when she can rely on no other aid.

THE CARE OF SBALTH. 105

With this end in view, in the preceding chapters someportions of the organs and functions of the human body

have been presented, and others will now follow in connec-

tion with the practical duties which result from them.

On the general subject of health, one recent discovery

of science may here be introduced as having an important

relation to every organ and function of the body, and as

being one to which frequent reference will be made ; ancj

that is, the nature and operation of cell-life.

By the aid of the microscope, we can examine the minute

construction of plants and animals, in which we discover

contrivances and operations, if not so sublime, yet more

wonderful and interesting, than the vast systems of worlds

revealed by the telescope.

By this instrument it is now seen that the first forma-

tion, as well as future changes and actions, of all plants and

animals are accomplished by means of small cells or bags

containing various kinds of liquids. These cells are so

minute that, of the smallest, some hundreds would not

cover the dot of a printed i on this page. They are of di-

verse shapes and contents, and perform various different

operations.

The first formation of every animal is accomplished by

the agency of cells, and may be il-

lustrated by the egg of any bird or

fowl. The exterior consists of a

hard shell for protection, and this

is lined with a tough skin, to which

is fastened the yelk, (which means

the yellow^ by fibrous strings, as

seen at a, a, in the diagram. In

the yelk floats the germ-cell, 5, which is the point where the

formation of the future animal commences. The yelk,

being lighter than the white, rises upward, and the germ

being still lighter, rises in the yelk. This is to bring both

nearer to the vitalizing warmth of the brooding mother.

J06 TEE HOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

New cells are gradually formed from tlie nourishing

yelt around tlie germ, each being at first roundish in

"shape, and having a spot near the centre, called the

nucleus. The reason why cells increase must remain a

mystery, until we can penetrate the secrets of vital force

—probably forever. But the mode in which they mul-

tiply is as follows: The first change noticed in a cell,

when warmed into vital activity, is the appearance of a

second nucleus within it, while the cell gradually becomes

oval in form, and then is drawn inward at the niiddle, Kke

an hour-glass, till the two sidss meet. The two portions

then divide, and two cells appear, each containing its own,

germinal nucleus. These both divide again in the same

manner, proceeding in the ratio of 2, 4, 8, 16, and so on,,

until most of the yelk becomes a mass of cells.

The central point of this mass, where the animal itself'

commences to appear, shows, first, a round-shaped figure,,

which soon assumes form like a pear, and then like a,

violin. Gradually the busy little cells arrange themselves

to build up heart, lungs, brain, stomach, and limbs, for

which the yelk and white furnish nutriment. There is a

small bag of air fastened to one end inside of the shell;,

and when the animal is complete, this air is taken into its

lungs, life begins, and out walks little chick, all its powera

prepared, and ready to run, eat, and enjoy existence. Then,^

as soon as the animal use's its brain to think and feel, and

its muscles to move, the cells which have been made up

into these parts begin to decay, while new cells are formed-

from the blood to take their place. Thus with life com-

mences the constant process of decay and renewal all over

the body.

The liquid portion of the blood consists of material

formed from food, air, and water. From this material the

cells of the blood are formed : first, the white cells, which

are incomplete in formation ; and then the red cells, whichare completed by the addition of the oxygen received from.

TBE CABB OF HEALTH. 107

cles, and all other organs.

air in the lungs. Fig. 49 represents part of a magnified

blood-vessel, a, a, in which the round cells are the white,

and the oblong the red cells,Fig. 49.

° '

floating in the blood. Sur^

rounding the blood-vessels

are the cells forming the ad-

jacent membrane, h h, each

having a nucleus in its centre.

Cells have different powers

of selecting and secreting

diverse materials from the

blood. Thus, some secrete

bile to carry to the liver,

others secrete saliva for the

mouth, others take up the

tears, and stiU others take

material for the brain, mus-

Oells also have a converting

power, of taking one kind of matter from the blood, and

changing it to another kind. .They are minute chemical

laboratories all over the body, changing materials of one

kind to another form in which they can be made useful.

Both animal and vegetable substances are formed of

cells. But the vegetable cells take up and use unorgan-

ized or simple, natural matter ; whereas the animal cell

only takes substances already organized into vegetable or

animal life, and then changes one compound into another

of different proportions and nature.

These curious facts in regard to cell-life have important

relations to the general subject of the care of health, and

also to, the cure of disease, as will be noticed in following

chapters.

THE NEEVOUS SYSTEM.\

There is another portion of the body, which is so inti-

mately connected with every other that it is placed in this


chapter as also having reference to every department in

the general subject of the care of health.

The body has no power to move itself, but is a collection

of instruments to be used by the mind in securing various

kinds of knowledge and enjoyment. The organs through

which the mind thus operates are the hrain and nerves.

The drawing (Fig. 50) represents them.

The brain lies in the skull,

^'^' ^"^ and is divided into the l^rge

or upper brain, marked 1,

and the small or lower brain,

marked 2. From the brain

runs the spinal marrow

through the spine or back-

bone. From each side of the

spine the large nerves run

out into innumerable smallei

branches to every portion of

the body. The drawing

shows only some of the larg-

er branches. Those marked

3 run to the neck and organs

of the chest ; those marked 4

go to the arms ; those, below

the arms, marked 3, go to

the trunk ; and those marked

5 go to the legs.

The brain and nerves con-

sist of two kinds of nervous

matter—^the gray, which is supposed to be the portion

that originates and controls a nervous fluid which imparts

power of action ; and the white, which seems to conduct

this fluid to every part of the body.

The brain and nervous system are divided into distinct

portions, each having difierent oflfices to perform, and each

acting independently of the others ; as, for example, one

THE CARE OF HEALTH. 109

portion is employed by the mind in thinking, and in feeling

pleasurable or painful mental emotions ; another in movingthe muscles ; while the nerves that run to the nose, ears,

eyes, tongue, hands, and surface generally, are employed in

seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling all p^hysical

sensations.

The lack portion of the spinal marrow and the nerves

that run fi'om it are employed in sensation, or the sense of

feeling. These nerves extend over the whole body, but are

largelj"- developed in the network of nerves in the skin.

The front portion of the spinal marrow and its branches

are employed in moving those muscles in all parts of the

body which are controlled by the loill or choice of the mind.

These are called the nerves of motion.

The nerves of sensation and nerves of motion, although

they start from different portions of the spine, are united

in the same sheath or cover, till they terminate in the

muscles. Thus, every muscle is moved by nerves ofmotion

;

while alongside of this nerve, in the same sheath, is a nerve

of sensation. AU the nerves of motion and sensation are

connected with those portions of the brain used when we

think, feel, and choose. By this arrangement the mind

knows what -is wanted in all parts of the body by means of

the nei-ves of sensation, and then it acts by means of the

nerves of motion.

For example, when we feel the cold air on the skin, the

nerves of sensation report to the brain, and thus to the

mind, that the body is growing cold. The mind thus

knows that more clothing is needed, and wills to have the

eyes look for it, and the hands and feet move to get it.

This is done by the nerves of sight and of motion.

Next are the nerves of imuolv/ntary motiov.; which move

all those parts of the head, face, and body that are used in

breathing, and in other operations connected with it. By'

these we continue to breathe when asleep, and whether we

will to do so or not. There are also some of the nerves of


voluntary motion that are mixed with these, which enable

the mind to stop respiration, or to regulate it to a certain

extent. But the mind has no power to stop it for any

great length of time.

There is another large and important system of nerves

called the sympathetic or ganglionic system. It consists of

small masses of gray and white nervous matter, that seem

to he small brains with nerves running from them. These

are called ganglia, and are arranged on each side of the

sphie, while small nerves from the spinal marrow run into

them, thus uniting the sympathetic system with the nerves

of the spine. These ganglia are also distributed around in

various parts of the interior of the body, especially in the

intestines, and all the different ganglia are connected with

each other by nerves, thus making one system. It is the

ganglionic system that carries on the circulation of the

blood, the action of the capillaries, lymphatics, arteries, and

veins, together with the work of secretion, absorption, and

most of the internal working of the body, which goes for-

ward without any knowledge or control of the mind.

Every portion of the body has nerves of sensation com-

ing from the spine, and also branches of the sympathetic

or ganglionic system. The object of this is to form a sym-

pathetic communication between the several parts of the

body, and also to enable the mind to receive, through the

brain, some general knowledge of the state of the whole

system. It is owing to this that, when one portion of the

body is affected, other portions sympathize. For example,

if one part of the body is diseased, the stomach may so sym-pathize as to lose all appetite until the disease is removed.

All the operations of the nervous system are performedlly the influence of the nervous fluid, which is generated

hi the gray portions of the brain and ganglia. Whenevera ner^'e is cut off from its connection with these nervouscentres, its power is gone, and the part to which it minis

tered becomes lifeless and incapable of motion.

TSE CARE OF HEALTH. Ill

The brain and nerves can be overworked, and can also

suffer for want of exercise, just as the muscles do. It is

necessary for the perfect health of the brain and nerves

that the several portions be exercised sufficiently, and that

no part be exhausted by over-action. For example, the

nerves of sensation may be very much exercised, and the

nerves of motion have but little exercise. In this case, one

will be weakened by excess of work, and the other bythe want of it.

It is found by experience that the proper exercise of the

nerves of motion tends to reduce any extreme suscepti-

bility of the nerves of sensation. On the contrary, the

neglect of such exercise tends to produce an excessive

sensibility in the nerves of sensation.

"Whenever that part of the brain which is employed in

thinking, feeling, and willing, is greatly exercised by hard

study, or by excessive care or emotion, the blood tends to

the brain to supply it with increased nourishrnent, just as

it flows to the muscles when they are exercised. Over-ex-

ercise of this portion of the brain causes engorgement of

the blood-vessels. This is sometimes indicated by pain, or

by a sense of fullness in the head ; but oftener the result

is a debilitating drain on the nervous system, which de-

pends for its supply on the healthful state of the brain.

The brain has, as it were, a fountaia of supply for the

nervous fluid, which flows to all the nerves, and stimulates

them to action. Some brains have a larger, and some a

smaller fountain ; so that a degree of mental activity that

would entirely exhaust one, would make only a small and

healthful drain upon another.

The excessive use of certain portions of the brain tends

to withdraw th« nervous energy from other portions ; so

that when one part is detiHtated by excess, another fails by

neglect. For example, a person may so exhaust the brain

power in the excessive use of the nerves of motion by

hard work, as to leave little for any other faculty. On the


otlier hand, the nerves of feeling and thinking may be so

used as to withdraw the nervous fluid from the nerves of

motion, and thus debilitate the muscles.

Some animal propensities may be indulged to such ex-

cess as to produce a constant tendency of the blood to a

certain portion of the brain, and to the organs connected

with it, and thus cause a constant and excessive excite-

ment, which finally becomes a disease. Sometimes a para-

lysis of this j)ortion of the brain results from such an

entire exliaustion of the nervous fountain and of the over-

worked nerves.

Thus, also, the thinking portion of the brain may be so

overworked as to drain the nervous fluid fr'om other por-

tions, which become debilitated by the loss. And in this

way, also, the overworked portion may be diseased or

paralyzed by the excess.

The necessity for the equal development of all portions of

the brain by an appropriate exercise of all the faculties of

mind and body, and the influence of this upon happiness,

is the most important portion of this subject, and will be

more directly exhibited in another chapter.

Yni.

DOMESTIC EXEECISE.

In a work whicli aims to influence women to train the

young to honor domestic labor and to seek healthful exer-

cise in home pursuits, there is special reason for explaining

the construction of the muscles and their connection with

the nerves, these being the chief organs of motion.

The muscles, as seen by the naked eye, consist of very

fine fibres or strings, bound up in smooth, silky casings of

thin membrane. But each of these visible fibres or strings

the microscope shows to be made up of still finer strings,

numbering from five to eight hundred in each fibre. Andeach of these microscopic fibres is a series or chain of

elastic cells, which are so minute that one hundred thou-

sand would scarcely cover a capital on this page.

The peculiar property ot the cells which compose the

muscles is their elasticity, no other cells of the body having

this property. At Fig. 61 is a^^' ^*' diagram representing a micro-

y..y. s/s>Y'WY \ scopic muscular fibre, in which

vXAA AAAy the cells are relaxed, a§ in the

natural state of rest. But when

the muscle contracts, each of its numberless cells in all its

small fibres becomes widened, makingFig. 62. gach fibre of the muscle shorter and

^ thicker, as at Fig. 52. This explains

(IIIIII) ^^^ '^^^^^ °^ *^® swelling out of muscles

when they act.

Every motion in every part of the body has a special


muscle to produce it^ and many have other muscles' to re-

store the part moved to its natural state. The muscles that

move or bend any part are called _êa;ors, and those that re-

store the natural position are called extensors.

Fig. 53 represents the muscles of the arm after the skin

and flesh are removed. They are all in

smooth silky cases, laid over each other,

, ,„! and separated both by the smooth mem-

\ i 'ff branes that encase them and by layers of

rî"/ ^^*' ^° ^^ *° move easily without interfer-

U'l"^

\ ^^S "ît^ ®^°^ other. They are fastened

^ to the bones by strong tendons and carti-

lages ; and around the wrist, in the draw-

ing, is shown a band of cartilage to con-

fine them in place. The muscle marked

8 is the extensor that straightens the fin-

gers after they have been closed by a

flexor the other side of the arm. In like

manner, each motion of the arm and fin-

gers has one muscle to produce it and

another to restore to the natural position.

The muscles are dependent on the

brain and nerves for power to move. It

has been shown that the gray matter of

the brain and spinal marrow furnishes

the stimulating power that moves the

muscles, and causes sensations of touch

on the skin, and the other sensations of

the several senses. The white part of the brain and spinal

marrow consists solely of conducting tubes to transmit this

influence. Each of the minute fibrils of the muscles has a

small conducting nerve connecting it with the brain or

spinal marrow, and in this respect each muscular fibril is

separate from every other.

When, therefore, the mind wills to move a flexor muscle

of the arm, the gray matter sends out the stimulus through

DOMESTIC EXERCISE. 115

the nerves to tlie cells of each individual fibre of that

muscle, and they contract. When this is done, the nerve

of sensation reports it to the brain and mind. If the minddesires to return the arm to its former position, then fol-

lows the willing, and consequent stimulus sent through the

nerves to the corresponding muscle ; its cells contract, and

the limb is restored.

When the motion is a compound one, involving the

action of several muscles at the same time, a multitude of

impressions are sent back and forth to and from the brain

through the nerves. But the person acting thus is uncon-

scious of all this delicate and wonderful mechanism. Hewills the movement, and instantly the requisite nervous

power is sent to the required cells and fibres, and they

perform the motions required. Many of the muscles are

moved by the sympathetic system, over which the mind

has but little control.

Among the muscles and nerves so intimately connected,

run the minute capillaries of the blood, which furnish

nourishment to all.

Fig. 54 represents an artery at a, which brings pure

blood to a muscle from the heart. After

meandering through the capillaries at c,

to distribute oxygen and food from the

stomach, the blood enters the vein, 5,

loaded with carbonic acid and water

taken up in the capillaries, to be carried

to the lungs or skin, and thrown out into

the air.

The manner in which the exercise

of the muscles quickens the circula-

tion of the blood will now be explained.

The veins abound in every part of every

muscle, and the large veins have valves which prevent the

blood from flowing backward. If the wrist is grasped

tightly, the veins of the hand are immediately swollen.

Fig. 54.

&'


This is owing to the fact that the blood is prevented from

flowing toward the heart by this pressure, and by the vein-

valves from returning into the arteries ; while the arteries

themselves, being placed deeper down, are not so compressed,

and continue to send the blood into the hand, and thus it ac-

cumulates. As soon as this pressure is removed, the blood

springs onward from the restraint with accelerated motion.

This same process takes place when any of the muscles

are exercised. The contraction of any muscle presses some

of the veius, so that the blood can not flow the natural way,

while the valves in the veins prevent its flowing backward.

Meantime "the arteries continue to press the blood along

until the veins become swollen. Then, as soon as the

muscle ceases its contraction, the blood flows faster from

the previous accumulation.

If, then, we use a number of muscles, and use themstrongly and quickly, there are so many veins affected in

this way as to quicken the whole circulation. The heart

receives blood faster, and sends it t& the lungs faster.

Then the lungs work quicker, to furnish the oxygen re-

quired by the greater amount of blood. The blood re-

turns with greater speed to the heart, and the heart sends

it out with quicker action through the arteries to the capil-

laries. In the capillaries, too, the decayed matter is .car-

ried off faster, and then the stomach calls for more food,

to furnish new and pure blood. Thus it is that exercise

gives new life and nourishment to every part of the body.

It is the universal law of the human fi'ame that exercise

is indispensable to the health of the several parts. Thus,

if a blood-vessel be tied up, so as not to be used, it shrinks,

' and becomes a useless string ; if a muscle be condemnedto inaction, it shrinks in size and diminishes in power ; and

thus it is also with the bones. Inactivity produces soft-

ness, debility, and unfltness for the functions they are de-

signed to perform.

Now, the nerves, like all other parts of the body, gain

^

DOMESTIC EXERCISE. 11

T

and lose strength according as they are exercised. If they

have too much or too little exercise, they lose strength

;

if they are exercised to a proper degree, they gain strength.

When the mind is continuously excited, by business, study,

or the imagination, the nerves of emotion and sensation are

kept in constant action, while the nerves of motion are un-

employed. If this is continued for a long time, the nerves

of sensation lose their strength from over -action, and the

nerves of motion lose their power from inactivity. In

consequence, there is a morbid excitability of the nervous,

and a debility of the muscular system, which make all

exertion irksome and wearisome.

The only mode of preserving the health of these systems

is to keep up ia them an equilibrium of action. For this

pm-pose, occupations must be sought which exercise the

muscles and interest the mind ; and thus the equal action

of both kinds of nerves is secured. This shows why exercise

is so much more healthful and invigorating when the mind

is interested, than when it is not. As an illustration, let a

person go shopping with a friend, and have nothing to do

but look on. How soon do the continuous walking and stand-

ing weary ! But, suppose one, thus wearied, hears of the

arrival of a very dear friend : she can instantly walk off a

mile or two to meet her, without the least feeling of fatigue.

By this is shown the importance of furnishing, for young

persons, exercise ia which they will take an interest. Long

and foi-mal walks, merely for exercise, though they do some

good, in securing fresh air, and some exercise of the mus-

cles, would be of triple benefit if changed to amusing

sports, or to the cultivation of fruits and flowers, in which

it is impossible to engage without acqxuring a great inte-

rest.

It shows, also, why it is far better to trust to useful do-

mestic exercise at home than to send a young person out to

walk for the mere purpose of exercise. Young girls can

seldom be made to realize the value of health, and the


need of exercise to secure it, so as to feel mucli interest in

walking abroad, when they have no other object. But, if

they are brought up to minister to the comfort and enjoy-

ment of themselves and others, by performing domestic

duties, they will constantly be interested and cheered in

their exercise by the feeling of usefulness and the con-

sciousness of having performed their duty.

There are few young persons, it is hoped, who are brought

up with such miserable habits of selfishness and indolence

that they can not be made to feel happier by the conscious-

ness of being usefully employed. And those who have

never been accustomed to think or care for any one but

themselves, and who seem to feel little pleasure in making

themselves useful, by wise and proper influences can often

be gradually awakened to the new pleasure of benevolent

exertion to promote the comfort and enjoyment of others.

And the more this sacred and elevating kind of enjoyment

is tasted, the greater is the relish induced; Other enjoy-

ments often cloy; but the heavenly pleasure secured byvirtuous industry and benevolence, while it satisfies at the

time, awakens fi-esh desires for the continuance of so enno-

bling a good.

IX.

HEALTHFUL FOOD.

The person who decides what shall be the food and

drink of a family, and the modes of its preparation, is the

one who decides, to a greater or less extent, what shall be

the health of that family. It is the opiniop of most me-

dical men, that intemperance in eating is one of the most

fruitful of all causes of disease and death. If this be so, the

woman who wisely adapts the food and cooking of her far-

mily to the laws of health removes one of the greatest

risks which threatens the lives of those under her care.

But, unfortunately, there is no other duty that has been

involved in more doubt and perplexity. "Were one to

believe all that is said and written on this subject, the con-

clusion probably would be, that there is not one solitary

article of food on God's earth which it is healthful to eat.

Happily, however, there are general principles on this

subject whichj if understood and applied, will prove a safe

guide to any woman of common sense ; and it is the object

of the following chapter to set forth these principles.

All material things on earth, whether solid, liquid, or

gaseous, can be resolved into sixty-two simple substances,

only fourteen of which are in the human body ; and these,

in certain proportions, in all mankind.

Thus, in a man weighing 154 lbs. are found, 111 lbs.

oxygen gas, and 14 lbs. hydrogen gas, which, united, form,

water ; 21 lbs. carbon ; 3 lbs. 8 oz. nitrogen gas ; 1 lb. 12

3z. 190 grs. phosphorus ; 2 lbs. calcium, the chief ingre-

<iient of bones ; 2 oz. fluorine ; 2 oz. 219 grs. sulphur ; 2 oz


47 grs. chlorine; 2 oz. 116 grs. sodium; 100 grs. iron; 290

grs. potassium ; 12 gi"s. magnesium ; and 2 grs. silicon.

These simple substances are constantly passing out of

the body thi'ough the lungs, skin, and other excreting

organs.

It is found that certain of these simple elements axe used

for one part of the body, and others for other parts, and

this in certain regular proportions. Thus, carbon is thp

chief element of fat, and also supplies the fuel that con^

bines with oxygen in the capillaries ta produce animal

heat. The nitrogen which we gain from our food and the

air is the chief element of muscle;phosphorus is the chief

element of brain and nerves ; and calcium or lime is the

hard portion of the bones. Iron is an important element

of blood, and silicon supplies the hardest parts of the teeth,

nails, and hair.'

Water, which is composed of the two gases, oxygen and

hydrogen, is the largest portion of the body, forming its

fluids ; there is four times as much of carbon as there is of

nitrogen in the body ; whUe there is only two per cent as

much phosphorus as carbon. A man weighing one hundred

and fifty-four pounds, who leads an active life, takes into

his stomach daily from two to three pounds of solid food,

and from five to six pounds of liquid. At the same time he

takes into his lungs, daily, four or five thousand gallons of

.

air. This amounts to three thousand pounds of nutriment

received through stomach and lungs, and then expelled fromthe bodj', in one year ; or about twenty times the man's ownweight.

The change goes on in every minute point of the body,

though in some parts much faster than in others ; as set

forth in the piquant and sprightly language of Dr. 0. WHolmes,* who, giving a vivid picture of the constant deca^

and renewal of the body, says

:

• Atlmitte Almcmac, 1869, p. 40.

BBALTSFUL FOOD. 121

" Every organized heing always Iwes irnmersed in astrong solution of its own elements."

" Sometimes, as in tlie case of the air-plant, the solution

contains all its elements ; but in higher plants, and in ani-

mals generally, some of the principal ones only. Take our

own bodies, and we find the atmosphere contains the oxygen

and the nitrogen, of which we are so largely made up, as its

chief constituents ; the hydrogen^ also, in its watery vapor

;

the carbon, in its carbonic acid. What oui- air-bath docs not

furnish us, 'Te must take in the form of noiu'ishment, sup-

plied through the digestive organs. But the first food wetake, after we have set up for om'selves, is air, and the last

food we take is air also. We are all chameleons in om* diet,

as we are all salamanders in our habitats, inasmuch as we live

always in the fire of our own smouldering combustion ; a

gentle but constant flame, fanned every day by the same

forty hogsheads of air which furnish us not with our daily

bread, which we can live more than a day without touching,

but with our momentary, and oftener than momentary, ali-

ment, without which we can not live five minutes."

"We are perishing and being born again at every instant.

We do literally enter over and over again into the womb of

that great mother, from whom we get our bones, and flesh,

and blood, and man-ow. ' I die daily ' is true of all that

live. If we cease to die, particle by particle, and to be born

anew in the same proportion, the whole movement of life

comes to an end, and swift, universal, ii-reparable decay re-

solves our frames into the parent elements."

" The products of the internal fire which consumes us over

and over again every year, pass off mainly in smoke and

eteam from the lungs and the skin. The smoke is only in-

visible, because the combustion is so perfect. The steam is

plain enough in our breaths on a frosty morning ;and an

over-driven horse will show us, on a larger scale, the cloud

that is always arising from own bodies."

" Man walks, then, not only in a vain show, but wra',)ped

122 TEE EOVSEKEEPER'S MANUAL,

in an uncelestial aureole of his own material exhalations.

A great mist of gases and of vapor rises day and night from

the whole realm of living nature. The water and the car-

bonic acid which animals exhale become the food of plants,

whose leaves are at once lungs and mouths. The vegetable

world reverses the breathing process of the animal creation,

restoring the elements which that has combined and rendered

effete for its own purposes, to their original condition. Thesalt-water ocean is, a great aquarium. The air ocean in

which we live is a ' Wardian case,' of larger dimensions."

It is found that the simple elements will not nourish

the body in their natural state, but only when organized,

either as vegetable or animal food ; and, to the dismay of

the Grahamite or vegetarian school, it is now established

by chemists that animal and vegetable food contain the

same elements, and in nearly the same proportions.

Thus, in animal food, carbon predominates in fats, while

in vegetable food it shows itself in sugar, starch, and vege-

table oils. ISTitrogen is found in animal food in the albu-

men, fibrin, and caseine ; while in vegetables it is in

gluten, albumen, and caseine.

It is also a curious fact that, in all articles of food, the

elements that nourish diverse parts of the body are divided

into separable portions, and also that the pro-Fig. 55. portions correspond in a great degree to the »

wants of the, body. For example, a kernel of

wheat contains all the articles demanded for

every part of the body. Fig. 55 represents,

upon an enlarged scale, the position and pro-

portions of the chief elements required. Thewhite central part is the largest in quantity,

and is chiefly carbon in the form of starch,

,

which supplies fat and fuel for the capillaries. Theshaded outer portion is chiefly nitrogen,' which nourishes

the muscles, and the dark spot at the bottom is prin-

cipally phosphorus, which nourishes the brain and

SEALTSFUL FOOD. 12&

nerves. And these elements are in due proportion to thedemands of the body. A portion of the outer covering of

a wheat-kernel holds lime, silica, and iron, which are

needed by the body, and which are found in no other part

of the gi-aia. The woody fibre is not digested, but serves

by its bulk and stimulating action to facilitate digestion.

It is therefore evident that bread made of unbolted flour

is more healthful than that made of superfine flour. Theprocess of bolting removes all the woody fibre ; the lime

needed for the bones ; the silica for hair, nails, and te^th

;

the iron for the blood; and most of the nitrogen and

phosphorus needed for muscles, brain, and nerves.

, Experiments on animals prove that fine fiour alone,

which is ehiefiy carbon, will not sustain life more than a

month, while unbolted flour furnishes all that is needed

for every part of the body. There are cases where persons

can not use such coarse bread, on account of its irritating

action on inflamed coats of the stomach. For such, a

kind of wheaten grit is provided, containing all the kernel

of the wheat, except the outside woody fibre.

When the body requires a given kind of diet, specially de-

manded by brain, lungs, or muscles, the appetite will crave

food for it until the necessary amount of this article is secured.

K, then, the food in which the needed aliment abounds

is not supplied, other food will be taken in larger quanti-

ties than needed until that amount is gained. For all kinds

of food have supplies for every want of the body, though

in different proportions. Thus, for example, if the muscles

are worked a great deal, food in which nitrogen abounds is

required, and the appetite will continue until the requisite

amount of nitrogen is secured. If, then, food is taken

which has not the requisite quantity, the consequence

is, that more is taken than the system can use, while

the vital powers are needlessly taxed to throw ofi' the

excess.

These facts were ascertained by Liebig, a celebrated Ger

124 . THE HOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL-

man chemist and physicist, who, assisted by his goTcm-

ment, conducted experiments' on a large scale in prisons, in

armies, and in hospitals. Among other results, he states

that those who use potatoes for theu* principal food eat them

in very much larger quantities than their bodies would de-

mand if they used also other food. The reason is, that the

potato has a very large proportion of starch that supplies

only fuel for the capillaries and very little nitrogen to feed

the muscles. For this reason lean meat is needed with

potatoes.

In comparing wheat and potatoes we find that in one

hundred parts wheat there are fourteen parts nitrogen for

muscle, and two parts phosphorus for brain and nerves,

But in the potato there is only one part in one hundred

for muscle,' and nine tenths of one part of phosphorus for

brain and nerves.

The articles containing most of the three articles needed

generally in the body are as follows : for fat and heat-mak-

ing—butter, lard, sugar, and molasses ; for muscle-making—^lean meat, cheese, peas, beans, and lean fishes ; for brain

and nerves—shell-fish, lean meats, peas, beans, and very

active birds and fishes who live chiefly on food in whichphosphorus abounds. In a meat diet, the fat supplies car-

bon for the capillaries and the lean famishes nutriment for

muscle, brain, and nerves. Green vegetables, fruits, andberries furnish the acid and water needed.

In grains used for food, the proportions of useful ele-

ments are varied ; there is in some more of carbon and in

others more of nitrogen and phosphorus. For example,

in oats there is more of nitrogen for the muscles, and less

carbon for the lungs, than can be found in wheat. Inthe corn of the North, where cold weather demands fuel

for lungs and capillaries, there is much more carbon to

supply it than is found in the Southern corn.

From these statements it may be seen that -^nc of the

chief mistakes in providing food for families has been in

HJÂLTBFUL FOOD. 125

changing tlie proportions of the elements nature has fitted

for our food. Thus, fine wheat is deprived by bolting of

some of the most important of its nourishing elements,

leaving carbon chiefly, which, after supplying fuel for the

capillaries, must, if in excess, be sent out of the body ; thus

needlessly taxing all the excreting organs. So milk, which

contains all the elements needed by the body, has the cream

taken out and used for butter, which again is chiefly carbon.

Then, sugar and molasses, cakes and candies, are chiefly

carbon, and supply but very little of other nourishing ele-

ments, while to make them safe much exercise in cold and

pure air is necessary. And yet it is the children of the

rich, housed in chambers and school-rooms most of their

time, who are fed with these dangerous dainties, thus

weakening their constitutions, and inducing fevers, colds,

ajid many other diseases.

The proper digestion of food depends on the wants of

the body, and on its power of appropriating the aliment

supplied. The best of food can not be properly digested

when it is not needed. All that the system requires will

be used, and the rest will be thrown out by the several ex-

creting organs, which thus are frequently over^taxed, and

vital forces are wasted. Even food of poor quality may

digest weU if the demands of the system are urgent. The

way to increase digestive power is to increase the demand

for food by pure air and exercise of the muscles, quickening

the blood, and arousing the whole system to a more rapid

and vigorous rate of life.

Kules for persons in fall health, who enjoy pure air and

exercise, are not suitable for those whose digestive powers

are feeble, or who are diseased. On the other hand, many

rules for invalids are not needed by the healthful, while

rules for one class of invalids will not avail for other classes.

Every weak stomach has its peculiar wants, and can not

furnish guidance for others.

We are' now ready to consider intelligently the following


general principles in regard to the proper selection ol

food:

Vegetable and animal food are equally healthful if

apportioned to the given circumstances.

In cold weather, carbonaceous food, such as butter,

fats, sugar, molasses, etc., can be used more safely than in

warm weather. And they can be used more safely by

those who exercise in the open air than by those of confined

and sedentary habits.

Students who need food with little carbon, and womenwha live in the house, should always seek coarse bread,

fruits, and lean meats, and avoid butter, oils, sugar, and

molasses, and articles containing them.

Many students and women using little exercise in the

open air, grow thin and weak, because the vital powers are

exhausted in throwing off excess of food, especially of the

carbonaceous. The liver is especially taxed in such cases,

being unable to remove all the excess of carbonaceous mat-

ter from the blood, and thus "biliousness" ensues, par-

ticularly on the approach of warm weather, when the air

bi'ings less oxygen than in cold.

It is found, by experiment, that the supply of gastric

juice, furnished from the blood by the arteries of the

stomach, is proportioned, not to the amount of food put

into the stomach, but to the wants of the body ; so that it

is possible to put much more into the stomach than

can be digested. To guide and regulate in this matter, the

sensation called hunger is provided. In a healthy state ot

the body, as soon as the blood has lost its nutritive supplies,

the craving of hunger is felt, and then, if the food is suit-

able, and is taken in the proper manner, this sensation

ceases as soon as the stomach has received enough to supply

the wants of the system. But our benevolent Creator, in

this, as in, our other duties, has connected enjoyment withthe operation needful to sustain our bodies. In addition

to the allaying of hunger, the gratification of the palate is

HEALTHFUL FOOD. 12';

secured by the immense variety of food, some articles ofwhicli are far more agreeable than others.

Tliis arrangement of Providence, designed for our happi-ness, has become, either through ignorance, or want ofself-control, the chief cause of the many diseases and suffer-

ings which afflict those classes who have the means of seek-ing a variety to gratify the palate. If mankind had onlyone article of food, and only water to drink, though theywould have less enjoyment in eating, they would never betempted to put any more into the stomach than the calls ofhunger require. But the customs of society, which presentan incessant change, and a great variety of food, with those

various condiments which stimulate 9,ppetite, lead almost

every person very frequently to eat merely to gratify the

palate, after the stomach has been abundantly supplied,

so that hunger has ceased.

When too great a supply of food is put into the stomach,

the gastric juice dissolves only that portion which the wantsof the system demand. Most of the remainder is ejected,

in an unprepared state; the absorbents take portions of it

into the system ; and all the various functions of the body,

which depend on the ministries of the blood, are thus

gradually and imperceptibly injured. Very often, intem-

perance in eating produces immediate results, such as colic,

headaches, pains of indigestion, and vertigo.

But the more general result is a gradual undermining of

all parts of the human frame ; thus imperceptibly shorten-

ing life, by so weakening the constitution, that it is ready

to yield, at every point, to any uncommon risk or exposure.

Thousands and thousands are passing out of. the world,

from diseases occasioned by exposures which a healthy con-

stitution could meet without any danger. It is owing to these

considerations, that it becomes the duty of every woman,

who has the responsibility of providing food for a family,

to avoid a variety of tempting dishes. It is a much safei

rule, to have only one kind of healthy food, for each meal,


Fig. 66.

than tlie too abundant variety which is often met at the

tables of almost all classes in this country. When there is

to be any variety of dishes, they ought not to be successive,

but so arranged as to give the opportunity of selection.

How often is it the case, that persons, by the appearance

of a favorite article, are tempted to eat merely to gratify

the palate, when the stomach is already adequately supplied.

All such intemperance wears on the constitution, and

shortens life. It not unfrequently happens that excess in

eating produces a morbid appetite, which must constantly

be denied.

But the organization of the digestive organs demands,

not only that food should be taken in proper quantities,

but that it be taken at proper times.

Fig. 56 shows one

important feature of

the digestive organs

relating to this point.

The part marked LMshows the muscles of

the inner coat of the

stomach, which run

in one direction, and- C M shows the mus-cles of the outer coat,

running in another

direction.

As soon as the food enters the stomach, the muscles areexcited by the nerves, and the peristaltic motion commences.This is a powerful and constant exercise of the muscles ofthe stomach, which continues until the process of digestionis complete. During this time the blood is withdrawn fromother parts of the system, to supply -the demands of thestomach, which is laboring hard with all its muscles.Wlien this motion ceases, and the digested food has gradu-ally passed out, nature requires that the stomach should

SB.ALTSFUL FOOD. 129

have a period of repose. And if another meal be âten

immediately after one is digested, the stomach is set to

work again before it has had time to rest, and before a suffi-

cient supply of gastric juice is provided.

The general rule, then, is, that three hours be given to

the stomach for labor, and two for rest ; and in obedience

to this, five hours, at least, ought to elapse between every

two regular meals. In cases where exercise produces a flow

of perspiration, more food is needed to supply the loss;

and strong laboring men may safely eat as often as they

feel the want of food. So, young and healthy children, whogambol and exercise much and whose bodies grow fast, mayhave a more frequent supply of food. But, as a general

rule, meals should be five hours apart, and eating between

meals avoided. There is nothing more unsafe, and wearing

to the constitution, than a habit of eating at any time

merely to gratify the palate. When a tempting article is

presented, every person should exercise sufficient self-denial

to wait till the proper time for eating arrives. Children,

as wen as grown persons, are often injured by eating be-

tween their regular meals, thus weakening the stomach by

not affording it any time for rest.

In deciding as to quantity of food, there is one great diffi-

culty to be met by a large portion of the community. The

exercise of every part of the biody is necessary to its health

and perfection. The bones, the muscles, the nerves, the

organs of digestion and respiration, and the skin, all de-

mand exercise, in order properly to perform their functions.

"When the muscles of the body are called into action, all the

blood-vessels entwined among them are frequently com-

pressed. As the veins have valves so contrived that the

blood can not run back, this compression hastens it for-

ward toward the heart; which is immediately put in

quicker motion, to send it into the lungs ; and they, also,

are thus stitnulated to more rapid action, which is the cause

of that panting which active exercise always occasions. The


blood thus courses with greater celerity through the body,

and sooner loses its nourishing properties. Then the sto-

mach issues its mandate of hunger, and a new supply of

food must be furnished.

Thus it appears, as a general rule, that the quantity of

food actually needed by the body depends on the amount

of muscular exercise taken. A laboring man, in the open

fields, probably throws off from his skin and lungs a much

larger amount than a person of sedentary pursuits. In

consequence of this, he demands a greater amount of food

and drink.

Those persons who keep their bodies in a state of health

by sufficient exercise can always be guided by the calls of

hunger. They can eat when they feel hungry, and stop

when hunger ceases ; and thus they will calculate exactly

right. But the difficulty is, that a large part of the com-

munity, especially women, are so inactive in their habits

that they seldom feel the calls of hunger. They habitually

eat, merely to gratify the palate. This produces such a

state of the system that they lose the guide which Nature

has provided. They are not called to eat by hunger, nor

admonished, by its cessation, when to stop. In consequence

of this, such persons eat what pleases the palate, till they

feel no more inclination for the article. It is probable that

three fourths of the women in the wealthier circles sit

down to each meal without any feeling of hunger, and eat

merely on account of the gratification thus afforded them.

Such persons find their appetite to depend almost solely

upon the kind of food on the table. This is not the case

with those who take the exercise which Nature demands.

They approach their meals in such a state that almost any

kind of food is acceptable.

The question then arises. How are persons, who have lost

the guide which Nature has provided, to determine as to the

proper amount of food they shall take ?

The best method is for several days to take their

HEALTBFUL FOOD. 131

ordinary exercise and eat only one or two articles ofsimple food, such as bread and milk, or bread and butterwith cooked fruit, or lean meat witb bread and vegetables,and at the same time eat less tban the appetite demands.Then on the following two days, take just enough tosatisfy the appetite, and on the third day notice the quan-tity which satisfies. After this, decide before eating thatonly this amount of simple food shall be taken.

Persons who have a strong constitution, and take muchexercise, may eat almost any tiling with apparent impimity

;

but young childi-en who are forming their constitutions, andpersons who are delicate, and who take but little exercise,

are very dependent for health on a proper selection of food.

It is found that there are some kinds of food which afford

nutriment to the blood, and do not produce any other eflfect

on the system. There are other kinds, which are not only

nourishing, but stimulating, so that they quicken the func-

tions of the organs on which they operate. The condiments

used in cookery, such as pepper, mustard, and spices, are of

this nature. There are certain states of the system whenthese stimulants may be beneficial ; such cases can only be

pointed out by medical men.

Persons in perfect health, and especially young children,

never receive any benefit from such kind of food ; and just

in proportion as condiments operate to quicken the labors

of the internal organs, they tend to wear down their powers.

A person who thus keeps the body working under an im-

natural excitement, Iwe faster than Nature designed, and

the constitution is w'om out just so much the sooner. Awoman, therefore, should provide dishes for her family which

are free from these stimulating condiments.

It is also found, by experience, that the lean part of ani-

mal food is more stimulating than vegetable. This is the

reason why, in cases of fevers or inflammations, medical

men forbid the use of meat. A person who lives chiefly on

animal food is under a Higher degree of stimulus than if his


food was cMefly composed of vegetable substances. His blood

will flow faster, and all the functions of Ms body wiU be

quickened. This makes it important to secure a proper pro-

portion of animal and vegetable diet. Some medical mensuppose that an exclusively vegetable diet is proved, by the

experience of many individuals, to be fully sufficient to nou-

rish the body ; and bring, as evidence, the fact that some of

the strongest and most robust men in the world are those

who are trained, from infancy, exclusively on vegetable food.

From this they infer that life will be shortened just ia pro-

portion as the diet is changed to more stimulating articles

;

and that, all other things being equal, children will have a

better chance of health and long life if they are brought

up solely on vegetable food.

' But, though this is not the common opinion of medical

men, they all agree that, in America, far too large a por-

tion of the diet consists of animal food. As a nation, the

Americans are proverbial for the gross and luxurious diet

with which they load their tables; and there can be no

doubt that the general health of the nation would be in-

creased by a change in our customs in this respect. To take

meat but once a day, and this in small quantities, compared

with the common practice, is a rule, the observance of which

would probably greatly reduce the amount of fevers, erup-

tions, headaches, bilious attacks, and the many other ail-

ments which are produced or aggravated by too gross a diet.

The celebrated Eoman physician, Baglivi, (who, frompracticing extensively among Koman Catholics, had ampleopportunities to observe,) mentions that, in Italy, an un-

usual number of people recover their health in the forty days

of Lent, in consequence of the lower diet which is required

as a religious duty. An American physician remarks, " Foi

every reeling drunkard that disgraces our country, it con-

tains one hundred gluttons—persons, I mean, who eat to

excess, and suffer in consequence.'^ Another distinguished

physician says, " I believe that every stomach, not actually

HEALTHFUL FOOD. 135

iaipaired by organic disease, will perform its functions, if

it receives reasonable attention ; and when we perceive the

manner in which diet is generally conducted, both in regard

to quantity and variety of articles of food and drink, which

are mixed up in one heterogeneous mass—instead of being

astonished at the prevalence of indigestion, our wonder must

rather be that, in such circumstances, any stomach is capa-

ble of digesting at all."

In regard to articles which are the most easily digested,

only general rules can be given. Tender meats are digest-

ed more readily than those Avhich are tough, or than manykinds of vegetable food. The farinaceous articles, such as

rice, floui', corn, potatoes, and the like, are the most nutri-

tious, and most easily digested. The popular notion, that

meat is more nom-ishing than bread, is a great mistake.

Good bread contains more nourishment than butcher's meat.

The meat is more stimulating, and for this reason is more

readily digested.

A perfectly healthy stomach can digest almost any health-

ful food ; but when the digestive powers are weak, every

stomach has its peculiarities, and what is good for one is

hurtful to another. In such cases, experiment alone can

decide which are the most digestible articles of food. Aperson whose food troubles him must deduct one article

after another, till he learns, by experience, which is the best

for digestion. Much evil has been done, by assuming that

the powers of one stomach are to be made the rule in regu-

lating every other.

The most unhealthful kinds of foo'd are those which are

made so by bad cooking ; such as sour and heavy bread,

cakes, pie-crust, and other dishes consisting of fat mixed

and cooked with flour. Eancid butter and high-seasoned

food are equally unwholesome. The fewer mixtures there

are in cooking, the more healthful is the food likely to be.

There is one caution as to the mode of editing which seems

peculiarly needful to Americans. It is indispensable to good


digestion, that food be well chewed and taken slowly. It

needs to be thoroughly chewed and mixed with saliva, in

order to prepare it for the action of the gastric jnice, which,

by the peristaltic motion, will be thus brought into contact

with every one' of the minute portions. It has been found

that a solid lump of food requires much more time and lar

bor of the stomach for digestion than divided substances.

It has also been found, that as each bolus, or mouthful,

enters the stomach, the latter closes, until the portion receiv-

ed has had some time to move around and combine with the

gastric juice, and that the orifice of the stomach resists the

entrance of any more till this is accomplished. But, if the

eater persists in swallowing fast, the stomach yields ; the food

is then poured in more rapidly than the organ can perform

its duty of preparative digestion ; and evil results are sooner

or later developed. This exhibits the folly of those hasty

meals, so common to travelers and to men of business, and-

shows why children should be taught to eat slowly.

After taking a full meal, it is very important to health

that no great bodily or mental exertion be made till the

labor of the stomach is over. Intense mental effort draws

the blood to the head, and muscular exertions draw it to

the muscles ; and in consequence of this, the stomach loses

the supply which it requires when performing its office.

When the blood with its stimulating effects is thus with-

drawn from the stomach, the adequate supply of gastric

juice is not afforded, and indigestion is the result. Theheaviness which follows a full meal is the indication whichIfature gives of the need of quiet. "When the meal is mod-erate, a sufficient quantity of gastric juice is exuded in an

hour, or an hour and a half ; after which, labor of body andmind may safely be resumed.

When undigested food remains in the stomach, and is at

last thrown out into the bowels, it proves an irritating sub-

stance, producing an inflamed state in the lining of the sto-

mach and other organs.

HEALTHFUL FOOD. 135

It is found that the stomacla has the power of gradually

accommodating its digestive powers to the food it habitually

receives. Thus, animals which live on vegetables can gra-

dually become accustomed to animal food ; and the reverse

is equally true. Thus, too, the human stomach can even-

tually accomplish the digestion of some Idnds of food, which,

at jBrst, were indigestible.

But any changes of this sort should be gradual ; as those

which are sudden are trying to the powers of the stomach,

by furnishing matter for which its gastric juice is not pre-

pared.

Extremes of heat or cold are injurious to the process of

digestion. Taking hot food or drink, habitually, tends to

debilitate all the organs thus needlessly excited. In using

cold substances, it is found that a certain degree of wannth

in the stomach is indispensable to their digestion ; so that,

when the gastric juice is cooled below this teiQperature, it

ceases to act. Indulging ia large quantities of cold drinks,

or eating ice-creams, after a meal, tends to reduce the tem-

perature of the stomach, and thus to stop digestion. This

shows the fbUy of those refreshments, ia convivial meetings,

where the guests are tempted to load the stomach with a

variety such as would require the stomach of a stout farmer

to digest; and then to wind up with ice-creams, thus

lessening whatever ability might otherwise have existed to

digest the heavy load. The fittest temperature for drinks,

if taken when the food is ia the digesting process, is blood

heat. Cool drinks, and even ice, can be safely taken at

other times, if not in excessive quantity. When the thirst

is excessive, or the body weakened by fatigue, or when in a

. state of perspiration, large quantities of cold drinks are in-

jurious.

Fluids taken into the stomach are not subject to the slow

process of digestion, but are immediately absorbed and car-

ried into the blood. This is the reason why liquid nourish-

ment, more speedily than, solid food, restores from exhaastion.

136 THE HOUSEKEEPER'S -MANUAL.

The minute vessels of the stomach absorb its fluids, which

are carried into the blood, just as the minute extremities of

the arteries open upon the inner surface of the stomach, and

there exude the gastric juice from the blood.

When food is chiefly liquid, (soup, for example,) the fluid

part is rapidly absorbed. The solid parts remain, to be act-

ed on by the gastric juice. In the case of St. Martin,* in

iifty minutes after taking soup, the fluids were absorbed,

and the remainder was even thicker than is usual after eat-

ing solid food. This is the reason why soups are deemed

bad for weak stomachs ; as this residuum is more difficult of

digestion than ordinary food.

Highly-concentrated food, having much nourishment ia

a small bulk, is not favoraUe to digestion, because it can not

be properly acted on by the muscular contractions of the

stomach, and is not so minutely divided as to enable the

gastric juice to act properly. This is the reason why a cer--

taia hulk of food is needful to good digestion; and whythose people who live on whale-oil and other highly nou-

rishing food, in cold climates, mix vegetables and even saw-

dust with it to make it more acceptable and digestible. Soin civilized lands, fruits and vegetables are mixed with morehighly concentrated nourishment. For this reason also,

soups, jellies, and arrow-root should have bread or crackers

mixed with them. This aflfords another reason why coarse

bread, of unbolted wheat, so often proves beneficial. "Where,

from inactive habits or other causes, the bowels become con-

* The individual here referred to—Alexis St. Martin—was a youngCanadian, eighteen years of age, of a good constitution and robust health,

who, in 1833, was accidentally woundedby the discharge of a musket whichcarried away a part of the ribs, lacerated one of the lobes of the lungs,and perforated the stomach, making a large aperture, which never closed

;

and which enabled Dr. Beaumont (a surgeon of the American army, sta-tioned at Michilimackinac, under whose care the patient was placed) to

witness all the processes of digestion and other functions of the bodv for

several years.

Blealthful food. 137

stipated and sluggish, tMs kind of food proves the appro-

priate remedy.

One fact on tMs subject is worthy of notice. In Eng-land, under the administration of William Pitt, for twoyears or more there was such a scarcity of wheat that, to

make it hold out longer, Parliament passed a law that

the anny should have all tneir bread made of unbolted

flour. The result was, that the health of the soldiers im-

proved so much as to be a subject of surprise tcJ themselves,

the officers, and the physicians. These last came out pub-

licly and declared that the soldiers never before were so ro-

bust and healthy ; and that disease had nearly disappeared

from the army. The civic physicians joined and pronounced

it the healthiest bread ; and for a time schools, families, and

public institutions used it almost exclusively. Even the

nobility, convinced by these facts, adopted it for their com-

mon diet, and the fashion continued a long time after

the scarcity ceased, until more luxurious habits resumed

their sway.

We thus see why children should not have cakes and can-

dies allowed them between meals. Besides being largely

carbonaceous, these are highly concentrated nourishments,

and should be eaten with inore bulky and less nourishing

substances. The most indigestible of all kinds of food are

fatty and oily substances, if heated. It is on this account

that pie-crust and articles boiled and fried in fat or butter

are deemed not so healthful as other food.

The following, then, may be put down as the causes of a

debilitated constitution from the misuse of food. Eating

too much, eating too often, eating too fast, eating food and

condiments that are too stimulating, eating food that is too

wa/rm or too cold, eating food that is highly concentrated,

without a proper admixture of less nourishing matter, and

eating hot food that is difficult of digestion.

JL.

HEALTHFUL DEINKB.

There is no direction in wHch a woman more needs both

scientific knowledge and moral force than in using her

influence to control her family in regard to stimulating

beverages.

It is a point fuUy established by experience that the full

development of the human body and the vigorous exercise

of all its ftmctions can be secured without the use of stimu-

lating drinks. It is, therefore, perfectly safe to bring up

children never to use them, no hazard being incurred by

such a course.

It is also found by experience that there are two evils in-

curred by the use of stimulating drinks. The first is, their

positive effect on the human system. Their peculiarity con-

sists in so exciting the nervous system that all the functions

of the body are accelerated, and the fluids are caused to

move quicker than at their natural speed. This mcreased

motion of the animal fluids always produces an agreeable

effect on the mind. The intellect is invigorated, the im-

agination is excited, the spu-its are enlivened ; and these

effects are so agreeable that all mankind, after having once

experienced them, feel a great desire for their repetition.

But' this temporary invigoration of the system is always

followed by a diminution of the powers of the stimulated

organs ; so that, though in all cases this reaction may not be

perceptible, it is invariably the result. It may be set downas the unchangeable rule of physiology, that stimulating

drinks deduct from the powers of the constitution in exact-

BEALTMFUL DRINKS. 139I

ly tlie proportion in whicli they operate to produce tempo-rary invigoration.

The second eyil is the temptation which always attends

the use of stimulants. Their effect on the system is so agree-

able, and the evils resulting are so imperceptible and distant,

that there is a constant tendency to increase such excitement

both in frequency and power. And the more the system is

thus reduced in strength, the more craving is the desire for

that which imparts a temporary invigoration. This process

of increasing debility and increasing craving for the stimu-

lus that removes it, often goes to such an exti'eme that the

passion is perfectly uncontrollable, and mind and body perish

under this baleful habit.

In this country there are three forms in which the use of

Buch stimulants is common ; namely, alcoholic drinks, ojpi-

um mixtures, and toiacco. These are all alike in the main

peculiarity of imparting that extra stimulus to the system

which tends to exhaust its powers.

Multitudes in this nation are^ in the habitual use of some

one of these stimulants ; and each person defends the indul-

gence by certain arguments

:

First, that the desire for stimulants is a natural propensity

implanted in man's nature, as is manifest from the universal

tendency to such indulgences in every nation. From this,

it is inferred that it is an innocent desire, which ought to be

gratified to some extent, and that the aim should be to keep

it within the limits of temperance, instead of attempting to

exterminate a natural propensity.

This is an argument which, if true, makes it equally pro-

per for not only men, but women and children, to use opium,

brandy, or tobacco as stimulating principles, provided they

are used temperately. But if it be granted that perfect

health and strength can be gained and secured without these

stimulants, and that their peculiar .effect is to diminish the

po.wer of the system in exactly the same proportion as they

stimulate it, then there is no such thing as a temperate use,

140 THE BOVSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

unless they are so diluted as to destroy any stimulating powerj

and in this form they are seldom desired.

The other argument for their use is, that they are among

the good things provided by the Creator for our gratifica-

tion ; that, like all other blessings, they are exposed to abuse

and excess ; and that we should rather seek to regulate their

use than to banish them entirely.

This argument is based on the assumption that they are,

like healthful foods and drinks, necessary to life and health,

and injurious only by excess. But this is not true ; for when-

ever they are used in any such strength as to be a gratifica-

tion, they operate to a greater or less extent as stimulants

;

and to just such extent they wear out the powers of the

constitution ; and it is abundantlyproved that they are not,

like food and drink, necessary to health. Such articles are

designed for medicine and not for common use. There can

be no argument framed to defend the use of one of them

which will not justify women and children in most danger-

ous iudulgences.

There are some facts recently revealed by the microscope

in regard to alcoholic drinks, which every woman should

understand and regard. It has been shown in a previous

chapter that every act of mind, either by thought, feeling,

or choice, causes the destruction of certain cells in the brain

and nerves. It now is proved by microscopic science* that

the kiud of nutrition furnished to the brain by the blood to

a certain extent decides future feelings, thoughts, and voli-

tions. The cells of the brain not only abstract from the

blood the healthfid nutrition, but also are affected in shape,

size, color, and action by unsuitable elements in the blood.

This is especially the case when alcohol is taken into the

stomach, from whence it is always carried to the brain. The

consequence is, that it affects the nature and action of the

* For these statements the writer is indebted to Maudsley, a recent

wiiteron Microscopic Physiology.

HEALTBFUL DRINKS. 141

brain-cells, imtil a habit is foi-med which is automatic; thatis, the' mind loses the power of controlling the brain in its

development of thoughts, feelings, and choices as it wouldin the natural state, and is itself controlled by the brain.In this condition a real disease of the brain is created, calledoino-mania, (see Glossary,) and the only remedy is total

abstinence, and that for a long period, from the alcoholicpoison. And what makes the danger more fearful is, that the

brain-cells never are so renewed but that this pernicious

etimiUus will bring back the disease in full force, so that a

man once subject to it is never safe except by maintaining

perpetual and total abstinence from every kind of alcoholic

drink. Dr. Day, who for many years has had charge of aninebriate asylum, states that he witnessed the dissection of tlie

brain of a man once an inebriate, but for many years in

practice of total abstinence, and found its cells still in

the weak and unnatural state produced by earlier indul-

gences.

There has unfortunately been a difference of opinion

among medical men as to the use of alcohol. Liebig, the

celebrated writer on animal chemistry, having found that

both sugar and alcohol were heat-producing articles of food,

framed a theory that alcohol is burnt in the lungs, giving

off carbonic acid and water, and thus serving to warm the

body. But modern science has proved that it is in the cap-

illaries that animal heat is generated, and it is believed that

alcohol lessens instead of increasing the power of the body to

bear the cold. Sir John Eoss, in his Arctic voyage, proved

by his own experience and that of his men that cold-Avater

drinkers could bear cold longer and were stronger than any

who used alcohol.

Carpenter, a standard wi'iter on physiology, says the ob-

jection to a habitual use of even small quantities of alcoholic

drinks is, that " they ai-e universally admitted to possess a

poisonous character," and-" tend to produce a morbid condi-

tion of body;" while "the capacity forendm-ing extremes


of lieat and cold, or of mental or bodily labor, is dimiaislied

rather than increased by their habitual employment."

Prof. J. Bigelow, of Harvard University, says, "Alcohol

is highly stimulating, heating, and intoxicating, and its effects

are so fascinating that when once experienced there is dan-

ger that the desire for them may be perpetuated."

Dr. Bell and Dr. Chiu-chill, both high medical authori-

ties, especially in lung disease, for which whisky is often

recommended, come to the conclusion that " the opinion that

alcoholic liquors have influence in preventing the deposition

of tubercle is destitute of any foundation ; on the contrary,

then- use predisposes to tubercular deposition." And " where

tubercle exists, alcohol has no effect in modifying the usual

course, neither does it modify the morbid effects on the

system."

Prof. Toumans, of ISTew-Tork, says :" It has been demon-

strated that alcoholic drinks prevent the natural changes

in the blood, and obstraet the nutritive and reparative func-

tions." He adds, " Chemical experiments have demonstrated

that the action of alcohol on the digestive fluid is to destroy

its active principle, the jpepsiw, thus confirming the observa-

tions of physiologists, that its use gives rise to serious disor-

ders of the stomach and malignant aberration of the whole

economy."

"We are now prepared to consider the great principles of

science, common sense, and religion, which should guide

every woman who has any kind of influence or responsibil-

ity on 'this siibject.

It is allowed by all medical men that pure water is per-

fectly healthful and supplies all the liquid needed by the

body ; and also that by proper means, which ordinarily are

in the reach of all, water can be made sufficiently pure.

It is allowed by all that milk, and the juices of fruits, whentaken into the stomach, furnish water that is always pure,

ar.d that our bread and vegetable food also supply it

in large quantities. There are besides a great variety of

HEALTHFUL DRINKS. 143

agreeable and healtlifnl beverages, made from the juices of

fruit, containing no alcohol, and agreeable drinks, such as

milk, cocoa, and chocolate, that contain no stimulating prin-

ciples, and which are nourishing and healthful.

As one course, then, is perfectly safe and another in-

volves great danger, it is -wrong and sinful to choose the

path of danger. There is no peril in drinking pure water,

milk, the juices of fruits, and infusions that are nom-ishing

and harmless. But there is great danger to the yotmg, and

to the commonwealth, in patronizing the sale and use of

alcoholic di-inks. The religion of Christ, in its distinctive

feature, involves generous self-denial for the good of others,

especially for the weaker members of society. It is on this

principle that St. Paul sets forth his own example, " If meat

make n .y brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the

world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend." Andagain he teaches, ""We, then, that are strong ought to

bear the infii-mities of the weak, and not to please our-

selves."

This Christian principle also applies to the common drinks

of the family, tea and coffee.

.

It has been shown that the great end for which Jesus

Christ came, and for which he instituted the family state,

is the training of our whole race to virtue and happiness,

with cliief reference to an immortal existence. In this mis-

sion, of which wom'an is chief minister, as before stated, the

distinctive feature is self-sacrifice of the wiser and stronger

members to save and to elevate the weaker ones. The chil-

dren and the servants are these weaker members, who by

ignorance and want of habits of self-control are in most

danger. It is in this aspect that we are to consider the ex-

pediency of using tea and coffee in a family.

These drinks are a most extensive cause of much of the

nervous debility and suffering endured by American women;

and relinquishing them would save an immense amount of

STJcli suffering. Moreover, aU housekeepers will allow that


they can not regulate these drinks m their kitchens, whore

the ignorant use them to excess. There is little probability

that the present generation will make so decided a change

in their habits as to give up these beverages ; but the sub-

ject is presented rather in reference to forming the -habits

of children.

It is a fact that tea and coffee are at first scld.om or never

agreeable to children. It is the mixture of milk, sugar, and

water, that reconciles them to a taste, which in this manner

gradually becomes agreeable. Now suppose that those who

provide for a family conclude that it is not their duty to

give up entirely the use of stimiilating drinks, may not the

case appear different in regard to teaching their children to

love such drinks ? Let the matter bo regarded thus : The

experiments of physiologists all prove that stimulants are

not needful to health, and that, as the general rule, they tend

to debilitate the constitution. Is it right, then, for a parent

to tempt a child to drink what is not needful, when there

is a probability that it will prove, to some extent, an under-

minins; drain on the constitution ? Some constitutions can

bear much less excitement than others ; and in every family

of children, there is usually one or more of delicate organi-

zation, and consequently peculiarly exposed to dangers from

this source. It is this child who ordinarily becomes the vic-

tim to stimulating drinks. The tea and coffee which the

parents and the healthier children can use without immedi-

ate injury, gradually sap the energies of the feebler child,

who proves either an early victim or a living martyi- to all

the sufferings that debilitated nerves inflict. Can it be right

to lead children where all allow that there is some dancer,

and where in many cases disease and death arc met, whenanother path is known to be perfectly safe ?

The impression common in this country, that warm drinks,

especially in winter, are more healthful than cold, is not

warranted by any experience, nor by the laws of the physical

system. At dinner, oold drinks are universal, and no one

HEALTSFVL DBINKS. 145

deems tliem iiijiu-ious. It is only at tlie otlier two mealstliat they are supposed to be Iiiutfiil.

There is no doubt that warm drinks are healthful, andmore agreeable than cold, at certain times and seasons ; but

it is ej:pially true that drinks above blood-heat are not health-

ful. If a person should bathe in warm water every day,

debility would inevitably follow ; for the frequent applica-

tion of the stimulus of heat, like all other stimulants, even-

tually causes relaxation and weakness. If, therefore, a person

is ill the habit of drinking hot drinks twice a day, the teeth,

throat, and stomach arc gradually debilitated. This, most

probably, is one of the causes of an early decay of the teeth,

which is observed to be much more common among Ameri-

can ladies, than among those in European coimtries.

It has been stated to the writer, by an intelligent traveler

who had visited Mexico, that it was rare to meet an indi-

vidual with even a tolerable set of teeth, and tliat almost

every grown person he met in the street had merely rem-

nants of teeth. On inquiry into the customs of the country,

it was found that it was the universal practice to take their

usual beverage at almost the boiling-point ; and this doubt-

less was the chief ca\ise of the almost entire want of teeth

in that country. In the United States, it can not be doubted

that much evil is done in this way by hot drinks. Most tea-,

drinkers consider tea as ruined if it stands until it reaches

the healthful temperature for drink.

The following extract, from Dr. Andrew Combe, presents

the opinion of most intelligent medical men on this sub-

ject.*

" Water is a safe drink for all constitutions, provided it

be resorted to in obedience to the dictates of natm-al thirst

* The writer -would here remaric, in reference to extracts made from va^

rious authors, that, for the sake of abridging, she has often left out parts

of a paragraph, hut never so as to modify the meaning of the author.

Some ideas, nit connected with the subject in hand, are omitted, but none

arc altered.


only, and not of habit. Unless the desire for it is felt, there

is no occasion for its use during a meal."

" The primary effect of all distilled and fermented liqaofs

is to stimulate the nervous system and qxdclcen the circula-

tion. In infancy and childhood, the circulation is rapid and

easily excited ; and the nervous system is strongly acted

upon evenby the slightest external impressions. Hence, slight

causes of irritation readily excite febrile and convulsive dis-

orders. In youth, the natural tendency of the constitution

is still to excitement, and consequently, as a general rule, the

stimulus of fermented liquors is injurious."

These remarks show that parents, who find that stimulating

drinks are not injm-ious to themselves, may mistake in in-

ferring from this that they will not be injurious to their

children.

Dr. Combe continues thus :" In mature age, when diges-

tion is good, and the system in full vigor, if the mode of life

be not too exhausting, the nervous functions and general

circulation are in their best condition, and require no stim-

ulus for their support. The bodily energy is then easily

sustained by nutritious food and a regular regimen, and

consequently artificial excitement only increases the wasting

of the natm-al strength."

It may be asked, in this connection, why the stimulus of

animal food is not to be regarded in the same light as that

of stimulating drinks. In reply, a very essential difference

may be pointed out. Animal food furnishes nutriment to

the organs which it stimulates, but stimulating drinks excite

the organs to quickened action without affording any nou-

rislunent.

It has been supposed by some that tea and coffee have, at

least, a degree of nom-ishing power. But it is proved that

it is the milk and sugar, and not the main portion of the

drink, which imparts the nourishment. Tea has not one

particle of nourishing properties ; and what little exists in

the coffee-beiTy is lost by roasting it in the usual mode. All

HEALTSFVL DRINKS. 147

that these articles do, is simply to stimulate without nou-

rishing.

Altliough there is little hope of banishing these drinks,

there is still a chance that soinething may be gained in at-

tempts to regulate their use by the rules of temperance.

If, then, a housekeeper can not banish tea and coffefe en-

tirely, she may use her influence to prevent excess, both byher instructions, and by the power of control committed

more or less to her hands.

It is important for every housekeeper to know that the

health of a family very much depends on \!a.Q f\i,rity of wa-

ter used for cooking and drinking. There are three causes

of impm'e and unhealthful water. One is, the existence in

it of vegetable or animal matter, which can be remedied byfiltering through sand and charcoal. Another cause is, the

existence of mineral matter, especially in limestone coun-

tries, producing diseases of the bladder. This is remedied

in a measm-^ by boiling, which secures a deposit of the lime

on the vessel used. The third cause is, the corroding of zinc

and lead used in pipes and reservoirs, producing oxides that

are slow poisons. The only remedy is prevention, by having

sujiply-pipes made of iron, like, gas-pipe, instead of zinc and

lead ; or the lately invented lead pipe lined with tin, which

metal is not corrosive. The obstacle to this is, that the trade

of the plumbers would be greatly diminished by the use of

reliable pipes. When Water must boused from supply-pipes

of lead or zinc, it is well to let the water run some time be-

fore drinking it and to use as little as possible, taking milk

instead ; and being further satisfied for inner necessities by

the water supplied by fruits and vegetables. The water in

these is always pure. But in using milk as a drink, it must

be remembered that it is also rich food, and that less of

other food must be taken when milk is thus used, or bUiona

troubles will result from excess of food.

The use of opium, especially by women, is usually caused

at first by medical prescriptions containing it. All that has


been stated as to the effect of alcohol in the brain is true oi

opium ; while, to break a habit thus induced is almost hopeless.

Every woman who takes or who administers this drug, is deal-

ing as with poisoned arrows, whose wounds are without cure.

The use of tobacco in this country, and especially among

young boys, is increasing at a fearful rate. On this subject,

wc have the unanimous opinion of all medical men ; the fol-

lowing being specimens.

A distingifished medical writer thus states the case :" Every

p]iysician knows that the agreeable sensations that tempt

to the use of tobacco are caused by nicotine, which is a rank'

poison, as much so as prussic acid or arsenic. Wlien smoked,

the poison is absorbed by the blood of the mouth, and car-

ried to the brain. Wlien chewed, the nicotine passes to the

blood through the mouth and stomach. In both cases, the

whole nervous system is thrown into abnormal excitement to

expel the poison, and it is this excitement that causes agree-

able sensations. The excitement thus caused is invariably

followed by a duninution of nervous power, in exact pro-

portion to the preceding excitement to expel the evil from the

system."

Few will dispute the general truth and effect of the

above statement, so that the question is one to be settled on

the same principle as applies to the use of alcoholic drinks.

Is it, tlicn,. according to the generous iDrinciples of Christ's

religion, for those who are strong and able to bear this poison,

to tempt the young, the ignorant, and the weak to a prac-

tice not needful to any healthful enjoyment, and which leads

multitudes to disease, and often to vice ? For the use of

tobacco tends always to lessen nerve-power, and probably

every one out of five that indulges in its use awakens ^ mor-

bid craving for increased stimulus, lessens the power of

self-control, diminishes the strength of the constitution, and

sets an example that influences the weak to the path of

danger and of frequent ruin.

The great danger of this age is an increasing, intense

HEALTHFUL DEWKS. 149

worldliness, and disbelief in the foundation pi-inciple of tlie

religion of Clirist, that wc arc to reap tlirongh everlasting

ages the consequences of habits formed in this life. In the

light of his word, they only Avho arc truly wise " shall shine

as the firmament, and they that tiu-n many to righteousness,

as the stars, forever and ever."

It is increasedyaiVA or Jjelief in the teachings of Cln-ist's

religion, as to the influence of this life upon the ZZ/e to come,

which alone can save our country and the world from that

inrushin2; tide of sensualism and worldliness, now secminn:

to threaten the best hopes and prospects of our race.

And woman, as the chief educator of our race, and the

prime minister of the family state, is bound in tlie use of

meats and drinks to employ the powerful and distinctive

motives of the religion of Clirist in forming habits of tem-

perance and benevolent self-sacrifice for the good of others.

XI.

CLEANLINESS.

Fig. 67.

Both tlie healtli and comfort of a family depend, to a

great extent, on cleanliness of the person and the family

surroundings. True cleanliness of person involves the sci-

entific treatment of the skin. This is the most complicated

organ of the body, and one through which the health is af-

fected more than through any other ; and no persons can or

will be so likely to take proper care of it as those by whomits construction and functions are understood.

Fig. 57 is a very highly

magnified portion of the

skin. The layer marked

1 is the outside, very thin

skin, called the cuticle or

scarf shin.,This consists

of transparent layers of

minute cells, which are

constantly decaying and

being renewed, and the

white scurf that passes

from the skin to the cloth-

ing is a decayed portion of

these cells. This part of the skin has neither nerves nor

blood-vessels.

The dark layer, marked 2, 7, 8, is that portion of the true

skin which gives the external color marking diverse races.

In the portion of the dark layer marked 3, 4, is seen a net-

work of nerves which run from two branches of the nervous

CLEANLINESS. 151

Fh B8.

trunks coming from the spinal marrow. These are nerves

of sensation, by which the sense of touch or feeling is per-

formed. Fig. 58 represents the

blood-vessels, (intermingled with

the nerves of the skin,) whichdivide iato minute capillaries,

that act like the capillaries of

the lungs, taking oxygen fromthe air, and giving out carbonic

acid. At a and h are seen the

roots of two hairs, which abound

in certain parts of the skin, and

are nourished by the blood of

the capillaries.

At Fig. 69 is a magnified view

of another set of vessels, called the lyTivphatios or absorl-

ents. These are extremely minute vessels that interlace

with the nerves and blood-vessels of the skin. Their ofiSce

is to aid in collecting the use-

less, injurious, or decayed mat-

ter, and carry it to certain re-

servoirs, from which it passes

into some of the large veins, to

be thrown out through the

limgs, bowels, kidneys, or skin.

These absorbent or lymphatic

vessels have mouths opening

on the sm-face of the true skin,

and, though covered by the

cuticle, they can absorb both liquids and solids that are

placed in close contact with the skin. In proof of this, one

of the main trunks ol the lymphatics in the hand can be

cut off from all communication with other portions, and tied

up : and if the hand is immersed in milk a given time, it

will be found that the milk has been absorbed through the

cuticle and fills the lymphatics. In this way, long-con-

Mg. 59.


Fig. 60.

*..

tinued blisters on the skin will introduce the blistering mat-

ter into the blood through the absorbents, and then the kid-

neys will take it up from the blood passing through them t»

cany it out of the body, and thus become irritated and in-

flamed by it.

There are also oil-tubes, imbedded in the skin, that draw

ofi" oil from the blood. This issues on the surface and spreads

over the cuticle to keep it soft and moist.

But the most curious part of the skin

is the system of innumerable minute

perspiration-tubes. Fig. 60 is a draw-

ing of one very greatly magnified.

These tubes open on the cuticle, and

the openings are called pores of the

skin. They descend into the true skin,

and thei-e form a coil, as is seen in the

drawing. These tubes are hollow, like

a pipe-stem, and their inner surface

consists of wonderfully minute capilla-

ries filled with the impure venous

blood. And in these small tubes the

same process is going on as takes place

when the carbonic £!,cid and water of

the blood are exhaled from the lungs.

The capillaries of these tubes through

the whole skin of the body are thus

constantly exhaling the noxipus and decayed particles of

the body, just as the lungs pour them out through the

mouth and nose.

It has been shown that the perspiration-tubes are coiled

up into a ball at their base. The number and extent of

these tubes are astonishing. ' In a square inch on the palm

of the hand have been counted, through a microscope, thir-

ty-five hundred of these tubes. Each one of them is about

a quarter of an inch in length, including its coils. This

makes the united lengths of these little tubes to be seventy-

CLEANLINESS. 153

three feet to a square incli. Tlieir united length over the

whole body is thus calculated to be equal to twenty-eight

iniles. What a wonderful apparatus this ! And what mis-

chiefs must ensue when the drainage from the body of such

an extent as this becomes obstructed !

But the inside of the body also has a skin, as have all its

organs. The interior of the head, the throat, the gullet, the

lungs, the stomach, and all the intestines, are lined with a

skiu. This is called the mucous memirane, because it is

constantly secreting from the blood a slimy substance called

mucus. AVhen it accmnulates in the lungs, it is called^/iZeÔT.

This inner skin also has nerves, blood-vessels, and lymphatics.

The outer skin joins to the inner at the mouth, the nose, and

other oiJenings of the body, and there is a constant sjTnpathy

between the two sldns, and thus between the inner organs

and the sm-facc of the body.

SECEETING OEGANS.

Those vessels of the body which draw off certain portions

of the blood and change it into a new fonn, to be employed

for sei-vice or to be thrown out of the body, are called se-

<yreting organs. The skin in this sense is a secreting organ,

as its perspii-ation-tubes secrete or separate the bad portions

of the blood, and send them off.

Of the internal secreting organs, the liver is the largest.

Its chief office is to secrete from the blood all matter not

properly supplied with oxygen. For this purpose, a set of

veins carries the blood of all the lower intestines to the liver,

where the imperfectly oxidized matter is drawn off in the

form of lile, and accumulated in a reservoir called the

gall-Uadder. Thence it passes to the place where the

smaller intestines receive the food from the stomach, and

there it mixes with this food. Then it passes through the

long intestines, and is thrown out of the body through the

rectum. This shows how it is, that want of pure and cool


air and exercise causes excess of bile, from lack of oxygen.

The liver also has arterial blood sent to nourish it, and cor-

responding veins to return this blood to the heart. So there

are two sets of blood-vessels for the liver—one to secrete the

bile, and the other to nourish the organ itself.

The kidneys secrete from the arteries that pass through

them all excess of water in the blood, and certain injurious

substances. These are carried through small tubes to the

bladder, and thence thrown out of the body.

The pancreas, a whitish gland, situated in the abdomen

below the stomach, secretes from the arteries that pasa

through it the pancreatic juice, which unites with the bile

from the liver, in preparing the food for nourishing the

body.

There are certain little glands near the eyes that secrete

the tears, and others near the mouth that secrete the saliva,

or spittle.

These organs all have arteries sent to them to nourish

them, and also veins to carry away the impure blood. At

the same time, they secrete from the arterial blood the pe-

culiar fluid which it is their office to supply.

All the food that passes through the lower intestines

which is not drawn off by the lacteals or by some of these

secreting organs, passes from, the body through a passage

called the rectum.

Learned men have made very curious experiments to as-

certain how much the several organs throw out of the body,

It is found that the skin throws off five out of eight pounds

of the food and drink, or probably about three or four

pounds a day. The lungs throw off one quarter as muchas the skin, or about a pound a day. The remainder is

carried off by the kidneys and lower intestines.

There is such a sympathy and connection between all the

organs of the body, that when one of them is unable to

work, the others perform the office of the feeble one.

Thus, if the skin has its perspiration-tubes closed up by a

CLBANLINJESS. 155

chill, then all the poisonous matter that would have beenthrown out through them must be emptied out either bythe lungs, kidneys, or bowels.

"When all these organs are strong and healthy, they canbear this increased labor without injury. But if the lunga

are weak, the blood sent from the skin by the chill engor-

ges the weak blood-vessels, and produces an inflammationof the lungs. Or it increases the discharge of a slimy mu-cous substance, that exudes from the skin of the lunss.

This fills up the aii'-vessels, and would very soon end life,

were it not for the spasms of the lungs, called coughing,

which throw off this substance. ^

If, on the other hand, the bowels are weak, a chill of the

sMn sends the blood into all the blood-vessels of the intes-

tines, and produces inilammation there, or else an excessive

secretion of the mucous substance, which is called a diar-

rhea. Or. if the kidneys are weak, there is an increased se-

cretion and discharge from them, to an unhealthy and in-

jurious extent.

This connection between the skin and internal organs is

shown, not only by the internal effects of a chill on the skin

;

but by the sympathetic effect on the skin when these internal

organs suffer. For example, there are some kinds of food

that will irritate and influence the stomach or the bowels

;

and this, by sympathy, will produce an immediate-eruption on

the skin. Some persons, on eating strawberries, will imme-

diately be affected with a nettle-rash. Others can not oat

certain shell-fish without being affected in this way. Manyhumors on the face are caused by a diseased state of the

internal organs with which the skin sympathizes.

This short accoimt of the construction of the skin, and

of its intimate connection with the internal, organs, shows

the philosophy of those modes of medical treatment that are

addressed to this portion of the body.

It is on this powerful agency that the steam-doctors rely,

when, by moisture and heat, they stimulate all the innu

156 THE nOVSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

merablc pei-spiration-tnbos and Ijanpliatics to force out

from the bod}'- a flood of unnaturally excited secretions;

while it is " kill or cure," jnst as the chance may meet or

oppose the demands of the case. It is the skin also that is

the chief basis of medical treatment in the "Water Ciu-c,

whose slow processes are as mnch safer as they are slower.

At the same time it is the ill-treatment or neglect of the

skin Avhich, probably, is the cause of disease and decay

to an incredible extent. The various particulars in which,

this may bo seen will now be pointed out. In the man-

agement and care of this wonderfiil and complex part of

the body, many mistakes have been made.

The most common one is the misuse of the bath, especially

since cold water cm-es have come into use. This mode of

medical treatment originated with an ignorant peasant, amid

a population where oiitdoor labor had strengthened nerves

and muscles and imparted rugged powers to every part of the

body. It was then introduced into England and America

witlioiit due consideration or knowledge of the diseases,

habits, or real condition of patients, especially of w'omen.

The consequence was a mode of treatment too severe and

exhausting ; and many practices were spread fibroad not

warranted by true medical science.

But in spite of these mistakes and abuses, the treatment

of the skin for disease by the use of cold water has become

an accepted doctrine of the most learned medical practi-

tioners. It is now held by all such that fevers can be de-

tected in their distinctive featiu"es by the thermometer, and

that all fevers can be reduced by cold baths and packing in

the wet sheet, in the mode employed in all water-em-es. Di-

rections for using this method will bo given in another place.

It has been supposed that large bath-tubs for immersing

the whole person are indispensable to the proper cleaning of

the sldn. This is not so. A wet towel, applied every morn-

ing to the skin, followed by friction in pure air, is all that

is absolutely needed ; although a full bath is a great luxury.

CLEANLINESS. 157

A-ccess of air to every part of the skin when its perspiratory

tubes are cleared and its blood-vessels are filled by friction

is the best ordinary bath.

In early life, children should be washed all over, every

night or morning, to remove impurities from the skin. Butm this process, careful regard should be paid to the peculiar

constitution of a child. Very nervous children sometimesrevolt from cold water, and like a tepid bath. Others pre-

fer a cold bath ; and nature should be the guide. It must be

remembered that the skin is the great organ of sensation, andin close connection with brain, spine, and nerve-centres : so

that what a strong nervous system can bear with advantage

is too powerful and exhausting for another. As age advances,

or as disease debilitates the body, gi'eat care should be taken

not to overtax the nervous system by sudden shocks, or to

diminish its powers by withdrawing animal heat to excess.

Persons lacking robustness should bathe or use friction in

a warm room ; and if very delicate, should expose only a

portion of the body at once to cold air.

Johnson, a celebrated writer on agricultural chemistry,

tells of an experiment by friction on the skia of pigs, whose

skins are like that of the hiunan race. He treated six of

these animals with a curry-comb seven weeks, and left three

other pigs imtouched. The result was a gain of thirty-three

poimds more of weight, with the use of five bushels less of

food for those cmTied, than for the neglected ones. This

result was caving to the fact that all the functions of the

body were more perfectly performed when, by friction, the

skin was kept free from filth and the blood in it exposed to

the air. The same will be true of the human skin. A cal

culation has been made on this fact, by which it is estima-

ted that a man, by proper care of his skin, would save over

thirty-one dollars in food yearly, which is the interest on

over five hundred dollars. If men will give as much care

to their own sldn as they give to currying a horse, they will

gain both health and wealth.

XTL

CLOTHING.

Theee is no duty of those persons having control of a

family where principle and practice are more at variance

than in regulating the dress of young girls, especially at

the most important and critical period of life. It is a dif-

ficult duty for parents and teachers to contend with the

power of fashion, which at this time of a young girl's life is

frequently the ruling thought, and when to be out of the

fashion, to be odd and not dress as all her companions do,

is a mortification and grief that no argument or instructions

can relieve. The mother is often so overborne that, in spite

of her better wishes, the daughter adopts modes of dress

alike ruinous to health and to beauty.

The greatest protection against such an emergency is to

train a child to understand the construction of her ownbody and to impress upon her, in early days, her obliga-

tions to the invisible Friend and Guardian of her life, the

" Former of her body and the Father of her spirit," who has

committed to her care so precious and beautiful a casket.

And the more she can be made to realize the skill and

beauty of construction shown in her earthly frame, the

more wiU she feel the obligation to protect it from injury

and abuse.

It is a singular fact that the war of fashion has attacked

most fatally what seems to be the strongest foundation and

defense of the body, the bones. For this reason, the con-

struction and functions of this part of the body wiU nowreceive attention.

The bones are composed of two substances, one animal.

CLOTHme. 159«

aud the other mineral. The animal part is a very fine

network, called cellular membrane. In this are depositedthe harder mineral substances, which are composed princi-

pally of carbonate and phosphate of Hme. In very early

Hfe, the bones consist chiefly of the animal part, and are

then soft and pliant. As the child advances in age, the

bones grow harder, by the gradual deposition of the phos-

phate of lime, which is supplied by the food, and carried to

the bones by the blood. In old age, the hardest material

preponderates ; making the bones more brittle than in ear-

lier Hfe.

The bones are covered with a thin sldn or membrane,filled with small -blood-vessels which convey nourishment

to them.

Where the bones unite with others to form joints, they

are covered with cartilage, which is a smooth, white, elas-

tic substance. This enables the joints to move smoothly,

while its elasticity prevents injuries from sudden jars.

The joints are bound together by strong, elastic bands

called ligaments, which hold them firmly and prevent dis-

location.

Between the ends of the bones that unite to form joints

are small sacks or bags, that contain a soft lubricating fluid.

This answers the same purpose for the joints as oil in mak-

ing machinery work smoothly, while the supply is constant

and always in exact proportion to the demand.

If you will examine the leg of some fowl, you can see tlie

cartilage that covers the ends of the bones at the joints,

and the strong white ligaments that bind the joints toge-

ther.

The health of the bones depends on the proper nourish-

ment and exercise of the body as much as that of any other

part. When a child is feeble and unhealthy, or when it

grows up without exercise, the bones do not become flrm

and hard as they are when the body is healthfully devel-

oped by exercise. The size as well as the strength of the


Fig. 61.

bones, to a certain extent, also depend upon exercise and

good health.

The chief supporter of the body is the spine, which con-

sists of twenty-four small bones, interlocked or hooked into

each other, while between them are elastic cushions of car-

tilage which aid in preserving the

upright, natural position. Fig. 61

shows three of the spinal bones,

hooked into each other, the dark

spaces showing the disks or flat cir-

cular plates of cartilage between

them.

The spine is held in its proper

position, partly by the ribs, partly by

muscles, partly by aid of the eliastic •

disks, and partly by the close pack-

ing of the intestines in front of it.

The upper part of the spine is often thrown out of its

proper position by constant stooping of the head over books

or work. This aflfects the elastic disks so that they grow

thick at the back side and thinner at the front side by such

constant pressure. The result is the awkward projection

of the head forward which is often seen in schools and col-

leges.

Another distortion of the spine is produced by tight dress

around the waist. The liver occupies the right side of the

body and is a solid mass, while on the other side is the larger

part of the stomach, which is often empty. The conse-

quence of tight dress around the waist is a constant pres-

sure of the spine toward the unsupported part where the

stomach lies. Thus the elastic disks again are compressed

;

till they become thinner on one side than the other, andharden into that condition. This produces what is called

the lateral curvature of the spine, making one shoulder

higher than the other.

The compression of the lower part of the waist is especial-

CLOTHING. 161

ly dangerous at the time young girls first enter society andare tempted to dress according to the fashion. Many a

school-girl, whose waist was originally of a proper andhealthful size, has gradually pressed the soft bones of

youth until the lower ribs that should rise and fall with

every breath, become entirely unused. Then the abdomi-

nal breathing, performed by the lower part of the lungs,

ceases ; the whole system becomes reduced in strength

;

the abdominal muscles that hold up the interior organs be-

come weak, and the upper ones gradually sink upon the lower.

This pressure of the upper interior organs upon the lower

ones, by tight dress, is increased by the weight of clothing

resting on the hips and abdomen. Corsets, as usually worn,

have no support from the shoulders, and consequently all

the weight of dress resting upon or above them presses

upon the hips and abdomen, and this in such a way as to

thi'ow out of use and thus weaken the most important sup-

porting muscles of the abdomen, and impede abdominal

breathing.

The diaphragm is a kind of muscular floor, extending

across the centre of the body, on which the heart and lungs

rest. Beneath it are the Hver, stomach, and the abdomi-

nal viscera, or intestines, which are supported by the abdo-

minal muscles, running upward, downward, and crosswise.

When these muscles are thrown out of use, they lose their

power, the whole system of organs mainly resting on them

for support can not continue in their naturally snug, compact,

and rounded form, but become separated, elongated, and un-

supported. The stomach begins to draw from above instead

of resting on the viscera beneath. This in some cases causes

dull and wandering pains, a sense of pulling at the centre

of the chest, and a drawing downward at the pit of the

stomach. Then as the support beneath is really gone, there

is what is often called "a feeling of goneness." This is

sometimes relieved by food, which, so long as it remains in

a solid form, helps to hold up the falling superstructure.


This displacement of tlie stomach, liver, and spleen inter-

rupts their healthful functions, and dyspepsia and biliary

difficulties not unfrequently are the result.,

As the stomach and its appendages fall downward, the

diaphragm, which holds up the heart and lungs, must des-

cend also. In this state of things, the inflation of the lungs is

less and less aided by the abdominal muscles, and is con-

fined chiefly to their upper portion. ' Breathing sometimes

thus becomes quicker and shorter on account of the elon-

gated or debilitated condition of the assisting organs. Con

sumption not unfrequently results from this cause.

The heart also feels the evil. "Palpitations," "flutter-

ings," " sinking feelings," all show that, in the language of

Scripture, " the heart trembleth, and is moved out of its

place."

But the lower intestines are the greatest suflerers from

this dreadful abuse of nature. Having the weight of all

the unsupported organs above pressing them into unnatural

and distorted positions, the passage of the food is inter-

rupted, and inflammations, indurations, and constipation

are the frequent result. Dreadful ulcers and cancers maybe traced in some instances to this cause.

Although these internal displacements are most commonamong women, some foolish members of the other sex are

adopting customs of dress, in girding the central portion of

the body, that tend to similar results.

But this distortion brings upon woman peculiar distresses.

The pressure of the whole superincumbent mass on the

pelvic or lower organs induces sufFerings proportioned in

acuteness to the extreme delicacy and sensitiveness of the

parts thus crushed. And the intimate connection of these

organs with the brain and whole nervous system renders in-

juries thus inflicted the causes of the most extreme anguish,

both of body and mind. This evil is becoming so com-

mon, not only among married women, but among young

girls, as to be a just cause for universal alarm.

CLOTEINO. 163

How very common these sufferings are, few but the medi-cal profession can realize, because they are troubles that

must be concealed. Many a woman is moving about in un-

complaining agony who, with any other trouble involving

equal suffering, would be on her bed suiTounded by sym-

pathizing friends.

The terrible sufferings that are sometimes thus induced

can never bo conceived of, or at all appreciated from, anyuse of language. Nothing that the public can be made to

believe on this subject will ever equal the reality. Notonly mature persons and mothers, but fair young girls some-

times, are shut up for months and years as helpless and

suffering invalids from this cause. This may be found all

over the land. And there frequently is a horrible extremity

of suffering in certain forms of this evil, which no womanof feeble constitution can ever be certain may not be her

doom. Not that in all cases this extremity is involved, but

none can say who will escape it.

In regard to this, if one must choose for a friend or a

child, on the one hand, the horrible torments inflicted by

savage Indians or cmel inquisitors on their victims, or, on

the other, the protracted agonies that result from such de-

formities and displacements, sometimes the fcN-mer would

be a merciful exchange.

And yet this is the fate that is coming to meet the young

as weU as the mature in every direction. And tender

parents are unconsciously leading their lovely and hapless

daughters to this awful doom.

There is no excitement of the imagination in what is hero

indicated. If the facts and details could be presented, they

would send a groan of terror all over the land. For it is

not one class, or one section, that is endangered. In every

part of our country the evil is progressing.

And, as if these dreadful ills were not enough, there have

been added methods of medical treatment at once useless, tor-

turing to the mind, and involving great liability to immorali-

ties.

164 THE HOXfSEKEEPEB'S MANUAL.

In hope of abating these evils, drawings are given (Fig.

62 and Fig. 63) of the front and back of a jacket that will

preserve the advantages of

^'s- ^^ the corset without its evils.

This jacket may at first be

fitted to the figure with cor-

sets underneath it, just like

the waist of a dress. Then,

delicate whalebones can be

used to stiffen the jacket, so

that it will take the proper'

shape, when the corset maybe dispensed with. The but-

tons below are to hold all

articles of dress below the waist by buttpn-holes. Ey this

method, the bust is supported as well as by corsets, while

the shoulders support from above, as they should do, the

weight of the dress below. No stiff bone should be allowed

to press in front, and the jacket should be so loose that a

full breath can be inspired with ease, while in a sitting

position.

The proper way to dress a young girl is to have a cotton

or flannel close-fitting jacket

next the body, to which the

drawers should be buttoned.

Over this, place the chemise;

and over that, such a jacket

as the one here drawn, to

which should be buttoned the

hoops and other skirts. Thus

every article of dress will be

supported by the shoulders.

The sleeves of the jacket can

be omitted, and in that case a

strong lining, and also a tape binding, must surround the

arm-hole, which should be loose.

Fig. 63.

CLOTHING. 165

It is hoped that increase of intelligence and moral poTveramong mothers, and a combination among them to regulatefashions, may banish the pernicious practices that have pre-

vailed. If a school-girl dress without corsets and withouttight belts could be established as a fashion, it woiild beone step gained in the right dii-ection. Then if motherscould secure daily domestic exercise in chambers, eating-

rooms and parlors in loose dresses, a still farther advancewould be secm-ed.

A friend of the wi'iter informs her that her daughter hadher wedding outfit made up by a fashionable milliner in

Paris, and every di-ess was beautifully fitted to the form,

and yet was not compressing to any part. This was donetoo without the use of corsets, the stiffening being delicate

and yielding whalebones.

Not only parents but all having the care of young girls,

especially those at boarding-schools, have a fearful responsi-

bility resting upon them in regard to this important duty.

In regard to the dressing of young children, much discre-

tion is needed to adapt dress to circumstances and peculiar

constitutions. The leading fact must be borne in mind that

the skin is made strong and healthful by exposure to light and

pure air, while cold au", if not excessive, has a tonic infiuence.

If the shin of infants is rubbed with the hand till red with

blood, and then exposed naked to sun and air in a well-ven-

tilated room, it will' be favorable to health.

There is a constitutional difference in the skin of different

childi'en in regard to retaining the animal heat manufactur-

ed within, so that some need more clothing than others for

comfort. Nature is a safe guide to a careful nurse and

mother, and will indicate by the looks and actions of a child

when more clothing is needful. As a general rule, it is

safe for a healthful child to wear as little clothing as suffi-

ces to keep it from complaining of cold. Fifty years ago,

it was not common for children to wear as much under-cloth-

ing as they now do. The writer well remembers how even

166 THE BUUtSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

girls, though not of strong constitutions, used to play forhoun

in the snow-drifts without the protection of drawers, kept

warm by exercise and occasional runs to an open fire. Andmultitudes of children grew to vigorous maturity through

similar exposures to cold air-baths, and without the frequent

colds and sicknesses so common among children of the

present day, who are more carefully housed and warmly

dressed. But care was taken that the feet should be kei)t

dry and warmly clad, because, circulation being feebler in

the extremities, this precaution was important.

It must also be considered that age brings with it decrease

in vigor of circulation, and the consequent generation of

heat, so that more warmth of air and clothing is needed at

an advanced period of life than is suitable for the young.

These are the general principles which must be applied

with modification to each individual case. A child of deli-

cate constitution must have more carefid protection from

cold air than is desirable for one more vigorous, while the

leading general principle is retained that cold air is a health-

ful tonic for the skin whenever it does not produce an un-

comfortable chilliness.

xm.

GOOD COOKING.

Thjee are but a few things on which health and happi-

ness depend more than on the manner in which food ia

cooked. Ton may make houses enchantingly beautiful,

hang them with pictures, have them clean and airy and con-

venient; but if the stomach is fed with sour bread and

burnt meats, it will raise such rebellions that the eyes will

see no beauty anywhere. The abundance of splendid ma-

terial we have in America is in great contrast with the

style of cooking most prevalent in our country. How often,

in journeys, do we sit down to tables loaded with material,

originally of the very best kind, which has been so spoiled

in the treatment that there is really nothing to eat 1 Green

biscuits with acrid spots of alkali ; sour yeast-bread ; meat

slowly simmered in fat till it seemed like grease itself, and

slowly congealing in cold grease ; and above all, that un-

pardonable enormity, strong butter! How one longs to

show people what might have been done with the raw ma-

terial out of which all these monstrosities were concocted

!

There is no country where an ample, well-furnished table

is more easily spread, and for that reason, perhaps, none

where the bounties of Providence are more generally ne-

glected. Considering that our resources are greater than

those of any other civilized people, our results are compara

tively poorer.

It is said that a list of the summer vegetables which are

exhibited on New-York hotel-tables being shown to a French

oHiste, he declared that to serve such a dinner properly


would take till midniglit. A traveler can not but be struck

with oui- national plenteousness, on retui-ning from a Con-

tinental toui', and going directly from the ship to a New-

York hotel, in the bounteous season of autumn. For

months habituated to neat little bits of chop or poultry,

garnished with the inevitable cauliflower or potato, which

seemed to be the sole possibility after the reign of green

peas was over ; to sit down aU at once to such a carnival ! tO'

such ripe, juicy tomatoes, raw or cooked ; cucumbers in brittle

slices; rich, yellow sweet-potatoes; broad lima-beans, and

beans of other and various names; tempting ears of Indian-

corn steaming in enormous piles;great smoking tureens of

the savory succotash, an Indian gift to the table for which

civilization need not blush ; sliced egg-plant in delicate frit-

ters ; and marrow-squashes, of creamy pulp and sweetness

;

a rich variety, embanrassing to the appetite, and perplexing

to the choice.

Verily, the thought must often occur that the vegetarian

doctrine pre~ached in America leaves a man quite as muchas he has capacity to eat or enjoy, and that in the midst of

such tantalizing abimdance he has really lost the apology,

which elsewhere bears him out in preying upon his less gifted

and accomplished animal neighbors.

But with all this, the American table, taken as a whole,

is inferior to that of England or France. It presents a fine

abundance of material, carelessly and poorly treated. Themanagement of food is nowhere in the world, perhaps,

more slovenly and wasteful. Every thing betokens that wantof care that waits on abundance ; there are great capabili-

ties and poor execution. A tourist through England canseldom fail, at the quietest country-inn, of finding himself

served with the essentials of English table-comfort—^liis

mutton-chop done to a turn, his steaming little private appa-ratus for concocting his own tea, his choice pot of marmaladeor slice of cold ham, and his delicate rolls and creamy but-

ter, all served with care and neatness. In France, one never

GOOD COOKING. 169

asks in vain for delicious cafi-au-lait, good bread and but-

ter, a nice omelet, or some savory little portion of meat witb

a French name. But to a tourist taking like chance in

American country-fare, what is the prospect ? "What is the

coffee? what the tea? and the meat? and above all, the

butter ?

In writing on cooking, the mam topics should be first,

bread ; second, butter ; third, meat ; fourth, vegetables

;

and fifth, tea—by which last is meant, generically, all sorts

of warm, comfortable drinks served out in tea-oups, whether

"they be called tea, coffee, chocolate, broma, or what not.

If these five departments are all perfect, the great ends

-of domestic cookery are answered, so far as the comfort

and well-being of life are concerned. There exists another

department, which is often regarded by culinary amateurs

and young aspirants as the higher branch and very collegi-

ate course of practical cookery ; to wit, confectionery, by

which is designated all pleasing and complicated compounds

of sweets and spices, devised not for health and nourish-

ment, and strongly suspected of interfering with both

—

mere tolerated gratifications of the palate, which we eat,

not with the expectation of being benefited, but only with

the hope of not being injured by them. In this large de-

partment rank all sorts of cakes, pies, preserves, etc., whose

excellence is often attained by treading under foot and dis-

regarding the five grand essentials.

There is many a table garnished with three or four

kinds of well-made cake, compounded with citron and

Bpices and all imaginable good things, where the meat

was tough and greasy, the bread some hot preparation

of fiour, lard, saleratus, and acid, and the butter un-

utterably detestable, where, if the mistress of the feast

had given the care, time, and labor to preparing the

eimple items of bread, butter, and meat, that she evi-

dently had given to the preparation of these extras, the lot

of her guests and family might be much more comfortable,

lYQ THE HOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

But she does not think of these common articles as consti

tilting a good table. So long as she has pnff pastry, rich

black cake, clear jelly and preserves, she considers that

such unimportant matters as bread, butter, and meat may

take care of themselves. It is the same iuattention to com-

mon things as that which leads people to bmld houses with

stone fronts, and window-caps and expensive front-door

trimmings, without bathing-rooms or fireplaces, or venti-

lators.

Thosewho go into the country looking for summer board

in farm-houses know perfectly well that a table where the

butter is always fresh, the tea and coffee of the best kinds and

well made, and the meats properly kept, dressed, and served,

is the one table of a hundred, the fabulous enchanted island.

It seems impossible to get the idea into the minds of many

people that what is called common food, carefully prepared,

becomes, in virtue of that very care and attention, a delicacy,

superseding the necessity of artificially compounded dainties.

To begiQ, then, with the very foundation of a good table

—Bread : What ought it to be ?

It should be light, sweet, and tender. This matter

of lightness is the distinctive line between savage and

civilized bread. The savage mixes simple flour and wa-

ter into balls of paste, which he throws into boiling

water, and which come out solid, glutinous masses, of which

his common saying is, " Man eat dis, he no die," which a

facetious traveler who was obliged to subsist on it inter-

preted to mean, " Dis no kill you, nothing will." In short,

it requires the stomach of a wild animal or of a savage to

digest this primitive form of bread, and of course more or

less attention in all civilized modes of bread-making is giv-

en to producing lightness. By lightness iss meant simply

that in order to facilitate digestion the paiîcles are to be

separated from each other by little holes or air-cells ; and

aU the different methods of making light bread are neither

more nor less than the formation of bread with these ai^

cells.

aOOD COOKING. 171

So far as we know, there are four practicable methods of

aerating bread ; namely, by fermentation ; by effervescence

of an acid and an alkali ; by aerated egg, or egg which has

been filled with air by the process of beating ; and lastly,

by pressure of some gaseous substance into the paste, by a

process much resembling the impregnation of water in a

soda-fountain. All these have one and the same object

—

to give us the cooked particles of our flour separated by

such permanent air-cells as will enable the stomach morereadily to digest them.

A very common mode of aerating bread in America ia

by the effervescence of an acid and an alkali in the flour.

The carbonic acid gas thus formed produces minute air-

cells in the bread, or, as the cook says, makes it light.

When this process is performed with exact attention to

chemical laws, so that the acid and alkali completely neu-

tralize each other, leaving no overplus of either, the result

is often very palatable. The difficulty is, that this is a hap-

py conjunction of circumstances which seldom occurs. The

acid most commonly employed is that of sour milk, and, as

milk has many degrees of sourness, the rule of a certain

quantity of alkali to the pint must necessarily produce

very different results at different times. As an actual fact

where this mode of making bread prevails, as we lament to

say it does to a great extent in this country, one finds five

cases of failure to one of success.

It is a woeful thing that the daughters of our land have

abandoned the old respectable mode of yeast-brewing and

bread-raising for this specious substitute, so easily made,

and so seldom well made. The green, clammy, acrid sub-

stance, called biscuit, which many of our worthy republi-

cans are obliged to eat in these days, is wholly unworthy of

the men and women of the republic. Good patriots ought

not to be put off in that way—they deserve better fare.

As an occasional variety, as a household convenience for

obtaining bread or biscuit at a moment's notice, the process


of effervescence may be retained ; but we earnestly entreat

American housekeepers, in scriptural language, to stand in

the way and ask for the old paths, and return to the good

yeast-bread of their sainted grandmothers.

If acid and alkali must be used, by all means let them

be mixed in due proportions, ô cook should be leit to

guess and judge for herself about this matter. There are

articles made by chemical rule which produce very perfect

results, and the use of them obviates the worst dangers in

making bread by effervescence.

Of all processes of aeration in bread-making, the oldest

and most time-honored mode is by fermentation. That

this was known in the days of our Saviour is evident from

the forcible simile in which he compares the silent penne-

ating force of truth in human society to the very familiar

household process of raising bread by a little yeast.

There is, however, one species of yeast, much used in

some parts of the country, against which protest should be

made. It is called salt-risings, or milk-risings, and is madeby mixing flour, milk, and a little salt together, and leaving

them to ferment. The bread thus produced is often very

attractive, when new and made with great care. It is white

and delicate, with fine, even air-cells. It has, however,when kept, some characteristics which remind us of the

terms in which our old English Bible describes the effect

of keeping the manna of the ancient Israelites, which weare informed, in words more explicit than agreeable, " stank,

and bred worms." If salt-rising bread does not fulfill the

whole of this impleasant description, it certainly does em-phatically a part of it. The smell which it has in baking,

and when more than a day old, suggests the inquiry,

whether it is the saccharine or the putrid fermentation with

which it is raised. Whoever breaks a piece of it after a

day or two, will often see minute filaments or clammy strings

drawing out from the fragments, which, with the unmis-

takable smell, will cause him to pause before consummat-ing a nearer acquaintance.

(itOUja COOKING. 173

The fermentation of flour by means of brewer's or dis-

tiller's yeast produces, if rightly managed, results far morepalatable and wholesome. The only requisites for success

in it are, first, good materials, and, second, great care in

rimall things. There are certain low-priced or damagedkinds of flour which can never by any kind of domestic

chemistry be made into good bread ; and to those persons

whose stomachs forbid them to eat gummy, glutinous paste,

under the name of bread, there is no economy in buying

these poor brands, even at half the price of good flour.

But good flour and good yeast being supposed, with a

temperature favorable to the development of fermentation,

the whole success of the process depends on the thorough

diffusion of the proper proportion of yeast through the

whole mass, and on stopping the subsequent fermentation

at the precise and fortunate point. The true housewife

makes her bread the sovereign of her kitchen—its behests

must be attended to in all critical points and moments, no

matter what else be postponed.

She who attends to her bread only when she has done this,

and arranged that, and performed the other, very often

finds that the forces of nature will not wait for her. The

snowy mass, perfectly mixed, kneaded with care and

strength, rises in its beautiful perfection till the moment

comes for filling the air- cells by baking. A few minutes now,

and the acetous fermentation will begin, and the whole result

be spoiled. Many bread-makers pass in utter carelessness

over this sacred and mysterious boundary. Their oven has

cake in it, or they are skimming jelly, or attending to Fome

other of the so-called higher branches of cookery, whi'e the

bread is quickly passing into the acetous stage. A t last,

when they are ready to attend to it, they find that it has

been going its own way,—it is so sour that the pungent

smell is plainly perceptible. Now the saleratus-bottle is

handed down, and a quantity of the dissolved alkali mixed

with the paste—an expedient sometimes making itself too


manifest by greenish streaks or small acrid spots ia the

bread. As the result, we have a beautiful article spoiled

—bread without sweetness, if not absolutely sour.

In the view of many, lightness is the only property re-

quired in this article. The delicate refined sweetness which

exists in carefully kneaded bread, baked just before it

passes to the extreme point of fermentation, is something

of wliich they have no conception ; and thus they will even

regard this process of spoiling the paste by the acetous fer-

mentation, and then rectifying that acid by effervescence

with an alkali, as something positively meritorious. Howelse can they value and relish bakers' loaves, such as some

are, drugged with ammonia and other disagreeable things

;

light indeed, so light that they seem to have neither weight

nor substance, but with no more sweetness or taste than so

much cotton wool ?

Some persons prepare bread for the oven by simply mix-

iug it in the mass, without kneading, pouring it into pans,

and suffering it to rise there. The air-cells in bread thus

prepared are coarse and imeven ; the bread is as inferior in

delicacy and nicety to that which is well kneaded as a raw

servant to a perfectly educated and refined lady. The pro-

cess of kneading seems to impart an evenness to the miaute

air-cells, a fineness of textijre, and a tenderness and plia-

bility to the whole substance, that can be gained in no other

way.

The divine principle of beauty has its reign over bread

as well as over all other things ; it has its laws of aesthetics

;

anil that bread which is so prepared that it can be formed

intc separate and well-proportioned loaves, each one care-

fully worked and moulded, will develop the most beautiful

results. After being moulded, the loaves should stand usually

not over ten minutes, just long enough to allow the fermenta-

tion going on in them to expand each little air-cell to the

point at which it stood before it was worked down, and then

they should be immediately put into the oven.

GOOD GOOKINQ. 176

Many a good thing, however, is spoiled in the oven. Wecan not but regret, for the sake of bread, that our old

steady brick ovens have been almost universally superseded

by those of ranges and cooking-stoves, which are infinite in

their caprices, and forbid all general rules. One thing,

however, may be borne in mind as a principle—that the

excellence of bread in all its varieties, plain or sweetened,

depends on the perfection of its air-cells, whether produced

by yeast, egg, or efiervescence ; that one of^ the objects of

baking is to fix these air-cells, and that the quicker this can

be done through the whole mass, the better will the residt

be. When cake or bread is made heavy by baking too

quickly, it is because the immediate formation of the top

crust hinders the exhaling of the moisture in the centre,

and prevents the air-cells from cooking. The weight also

of the crust pressing down on the doughy air-cells below de-

stroys them, producing that horror of good cooks, a heavy

streak. The problem in baking, then, is the quick applica-

tion of heat rather below than above the loaf, and its steady

continuance till all the air-cells are thoroughly dried into

permanent consistency. Every housewife must watch her

own oven to know how this can be best accomplished.

Bread-making can be cultivated to any extent as a fine

art—and the various Mnds of biscuit, tea-rusks, twists,

rolls, into which bread may be made, are much better worth

a housekeeper's ambition than the getting-up of rich and

expensive cake or confections. There are also varieties of

material which are rich in good effects. Unbolted flour,

altogether more wholesome than the fine wheat, and when

properly prepared more palatable—rye-flour and corn-meal,

each affbrding a thousand attractive possibilities—all of

these come under the general laws of bread-stuffs, and are

worth a careful attention.

A peculiarity of our American table, particularly in the

Southern and Western States, is the constant exhibition of

various preparations of hot bread. In many families of the


South and "West, bread in loaves to be eaten cold is an ar-

ticle quite unknown. The effect of this kind of diet upon

the health has formed a frequent subject of remark among

travelers ; hut only those know the full mischiefs of it who

have been compelled to sojourn for a length of time in

families where it is maintained. The unknown horrors of

dyspepsia from bad bread are •% topic over which we will-

ingly draw a vail.

Next to Bread comes Butter—on which we have to say,

that, when we remember what butter is in civilized Europe,

and compare it with what it is in America, we wonder at

the forbearance and lenity of travelers in their strictures on

our national commissariat.

Butter, in England, France, and Italy, is simply solidified

cream, with all the sweetness of the cream in its taste, fresh-

ly churned each day, and unadulterated by salt. At the

present moment, when salt is five cents a pound and butter

fifty, we Americans are paying, at high prices, for about one

pound of salt to every ten of butter, and those of us who

have eaten the butter of France and England do this with

rueful recollections.

There is, it is true, an article of butter made in the

American style with salt, which, in its own kind and way,

has a merit not inferior to that of England and France.

Many prefer it, and it certainly takes a rank equally respect-

able with the other. It is yellow, hard, and worked so

perfectly free from every particle of buttermilk that it

might make the voyage of the world without spoiling. It

is salted, but salted with care and delicacy, so that it maybe a question whether even a fastidious Englishman might

not prefer its golden solidity to the white, creamy freshness

of his own. But it is to be regretted that this article is the

exception, and not the rule, on our tables.

America must have the credit of manufacturing and put-

ting into market more bad butter than aU that is made in

aU the rest of the world together. The varieties of bad

GOOD COOKINO. 177

tastes and smells which prevail in it are quite a study.

This has a cheesy taste, that a mouldy, this is flavored with

cabbage, and that again with turnip, and another has the

strong, sharp savor of rancid animal fat. These varieties

probably come from the practice' of churning only at long

intervals, and keeping the cream meanwhile in unventilated

cellars or dairies, the air of which is loaded with the efllu-

via of vegetable substances. No domestic articles are so

sympathetic as those of the milk tribe : they readily take

on the smell and taste of any neighboring substance, and

hence the infinite Variety of flavors on which one mournful-

ly muses who has late in autumn to taste twenty firkins of

butter in hopes of finding ©ne which wiU simply not be in-

tolerable on his winter table.^

A matter for despair as regards bad butter is, that at the

tables where it is used it stands sentinel at the door to bar

your way to every other kind of food. You turn from your

dreadful half-slice of bread, which fills your mouth with

bitterness, to your beef-steak, which proves virulent with

the same poison;you think to take refuge in vegetable diet,

and find the butter in the string-beans, and polluting the in-

nocence of early peas ; it is in the com, in the succotash, in

the squash ; the beets swim in it, the onions have it poured

over them. Hungry and miserable, you think to solace

yom'self at the dessert ; but the pastry is cursed, the cake is

acrid with the same plague. You are ready to howl with

despair, and your misery is great upon you—especially if

this is a table where you have taken board for three months

with your delicate wife and four small children. Your case

is dreadful, and it is hopeless, because long usage and habit

have rendered your host perfectly incapable of discovering

what is the matter. " Don't like the butter, sir ? I assure

you I paid an extra price for it, and it's the very best in the

market. I looked over as many as a hundred tubs, and

picked out this one." You are dumb, but not less despair-

ing.


Yet tlie process of matiag good butter is a very simple

one. To keep the cream ia a perfectly pure, cool atmo-

sphere, to churn while it is yet sweet, to work out the but-

termilk thoroughly, and to add salt with such discretion as

not to rnin the fine, delicate flavor of the fresh creaih—aU

this is quite simple, so simple that one wonders at thousands

and millions of pounds of butter yearly manufactured

which are merely a hobgoblia bewitchment of cream into

foul and loathsome poisons.

The third head of my discourse is that of Meat, of which

America furnishes, in the gross material, enough to spread

our tables royaUy, were it well cared for and served.

The faults in the meat generally furnished to us are, first,

that it is too new. A beef steak, which three or four days

of keeping might render palatable, is served up to us palpi-

tating with freshness, with all the toughness of animal mus-

cle yet warm.

In the next place, there is a woeful lack of nicety in the

butcher's work of cutting and preparing meat. "Who that

remembers the neatly trimmed mutton-chop of an English

ion, or the artistic little circle of lamb-chop fried in bread-

crumbs coiled around a tempting centre of spinach which

may always be found in France, can recognize any family

resemblance to those dapper, civilized preparations, in these

coarse, roughly-hacked strips of bone, gristle, and meat

which are commonly called mutton-chop in America?

There' seems to be a large dish of something resembling

meat, in which each fragment has about two or three edible

morsels, the rest being composed of dry and burnt skin, fat,

and ragged bone.

Is it not time that civilization should learn to demandsomewhat more care and nicety in the modes of preparing

what is to be cooked and eaten ? Might not some of the re-

finement and trimness which characterize the preparations

of the European market be with advantage introduced into

our own ? The housekeeper who wishes to garnish her ta

GOOD COOKING. 179

ble with some of those nice things is stopped in the outset'

by the butcher. Except in our large cities, where some for-

eign travel may have created the demand, it seems impossi-

ble to get much in this hne that is properly prepared.

If this is urged on the score of aesthetics, the ready reply

will be, " Oh ! we can't give time here in America to go into

niceties and French whim-whams !" But the French modeof doing almost all practical things is based on that true

philosophy and utilitarian good sense which characterize

that seemingly thoughtless people. Nowhere is economy a

more careful study, and their market is artistically arranged

to this end. The rule is so to cut their meats that no por-

tion designed to be cooked in a certain manner shall have

wasteful appendages which that mode of cooking will spoil.

The French soup-kettle stands ever ready to receive the

bones, the thin fibrous flaps, the sinewy and gristly portions,

which are so often included in our roasts or broilings, which

fill our plates with unsightly debris, and finally make an

amount of blank waste for which we pay our butcher the

same price that we pay for what we have eaten.

The dead waste of our clumsy, coarse way of cutting

meats is immense. For example, at the beginning of the

season, the part of a lamb denominated leg and loin, or

hind-quarter, may sell for thirty cents a pound. Now this

includes, besides the thick, fleshy portions, a quantity of

bone, sinew, and thin fibrous substance, constituting full

one third of the whole weight. If we put it into the oven

entire, in the usual manner, we have the thin parts over-

done, and the skinny and fibrous parts utterly dried up, by

the application of the amount of heat necessary to cook

the thick portion. Supposing the joint to weigh six pounds,

at thirty cents, and that one third of the weight is so treat-

ed as to become perfectly useless, we throw away sixty

cents. Of a piece of beef at twenty-five cents a pound,

fifty cents' worth is often lost in bone, fat, and burnt s'dn.

The fact is, this way of selling and cooking meat in

;[80 THE HOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

'arge, gross portions is of English origin, and belongs to a

country where all the customs of society spring from a class

who have no particular occasion for economy. The prac-

tice of minute and delicate dirision comes from a nation

which acknowledges the need of economy, and has made it

a study. A quarter of lamb in this mode of division would

be sold in three nicely prepared portions. The thick part

would be sold by itself, fox a neat, compact little roast

;

the. rib-bones would be artistically separated, and all the

edible matter would form those delicate dishes of lamb-

chop, which, fried in bread-crumbs to a golden brown,

are so ornamental and palatable a side-dish ; the triiiunings

which remain after this division would be destined to the

soup-kettle or stew-pan.

In a French market is a little portion for every purse,

and the far-famed and delicately flavored soups and stews

which have arisen out of French economy are a study worth

a housekeeper's attention. Not one atom of food is wasted

in the French modes of preparation ; even tough animal

cartilages and sinews, instead of appearing burned and

.blackened in company with the roast meat to which they

happen to be related, are treated according to their ownlaws, and come out either in savory soups, or those fine,

clear meat-jelhes which form a garnish no less agreeable to

the eye than palatable to the taste.

Whether this careful, economical, practical style of meat-

cooking can ever to any great extent be introduced into our

Idtchens now is a question. Our butchers are against it

;

our servants are wedded to the old wholesale wasteful ways,

which seem to them easier because they are accustomed to

thenj. A cook who will keep and properly tend a soup-

kettle which shall receive and utilize all that the coarse

preparations of the butcher would require her to trim away,

who understands the art of making the most of all these

remaiuc'. is a treasure scarcely to be hoped for. If sucli

things ai3 to be done, it must be primarily through the

GOOD COOKINQ. 181

educated brain of cultivated women who do not scorn to

turn their culture and refinement upon domestic problems."When meats have been properly divided, so that each

portion can receive its own appropriate style of treatment,

next comes the consideration of the modes of cooking.

These may be divided into two great general classes : those

where it is desired to keep the juices within the meat, as in

. baking, broiling, and frying—and those whose object is to

extract the juice and dissolve the fibre, as in the makingof soups and stews. In the fii-st class of operations, the

process must be as rapid as may consist with the thorough

cooking of all the particles. In this branch of cookery,

doing quickly is doing well. The fire must be brisk, the

attention alert. The introduction of cooking-stoves offers

to careless domestics facilities for gradually drying-up

meats, and despoiling them of all flavor and nutriment

—

facilities which appear to be very generally accepted.

They have almost banished the genuine, old-fashioned

roast-meat from our tables, and left in its stead dried meats

with their most precious and nutritive juices evaporated.

How few cooks, unassisted, are competent to the simple

process of broiling a beefsteak or mutton-chop ! how very

generally one has to choose between these meats gradually

dried away, or burned on the outside and raw within

!

Yet in England these articles never come on the table done

amiss ; their perfect cooking is as absolute a certainty as the

rising of the sun.

No one of these rapid processes of cooking, however, is

so generally abused as frying. The frying-pan has awful

sins to answer for. What untold horrors of dyspepsia have

arisen from its smoky depths, like the ghost from witches'

caldrons ! The fizzle of frying meat is a warning knell on

many an ear, saying, " Touch not, taste not, if you would

not bum and writhe !"

Yet those who have traveled abroad remember that

some of the lightest, most palatable, and most digestible

182 THE EOUSEKEEPEB'S MANUAL.

preparations of meat have come from this dangerous

som-ce. But we fancy quite other rites and ceremonies

inaugurated the process, and quite other hands performed

its offices, than those known to our kitchens. Probably the

delicate cttelettes of France are not flopped down into half-

melted grease, there gradually to warm and soak and fizzle,

while Biddy goes in and out on her other ministrations, till

finally, when they are thoroughly saturated, and dinner-hour

impends, she bethinks herself, and crowds the fire below to

a roaring heat, and finishes the process by a smart bum, ia-

volving the kitchen and surrounding precincts in volumes

of Stygian gloom. From such preparations has arisen the

very current medical opinion that fried meats are indigesti-

ble. They are indigestible, if they are greasy ; but French

cooks have taught us that a thing has no more need to

be greasy because emerging from grease than Yenus hadto be salt because she rose from the sea.

There are two ways of frying employed by the Frenchcook. One is, to immerse the article to be cooked ia hoil-

mg fat, with an emphasis on the present participle—andthe phUosophical principle is, so immediately to crisp every

pore, at the first moment or two of immersion, as eflfectually

to seal the iaterior against the intrusion of greasy particles

;

it can then remain as long as may be necessary thoroughlyto cook it, without imbibing any more of the boiHng fluid

than if it were inclosed in an egg-shell. The other methodis to rub a perfectly smooth iron surface with just enoughof some oily substance to prevent the meat from adhering,and cook it with a quick heat, as cakes are .baked on a

griddle. In both these cases there must be the most rapidapplication of heat that can be made without burning, andby the adroitness shown in working out this problem tlie

skill of the cook is tested. Any one whose cook attains

this important secret will flnd fried things quite as digestible,

and often more palatable, than any other.

In the second department of meat-cookery, to wit, the

900D COOKING. 183

slow and gradual application of heat for the softening anddissolution of its fibre and the extraction of its juices,

common cooks are equally untrained. Where is 'the so-

called cook who understands how to prepare soups andstews? These are precisely the articles in which a

French kitchen excels. The soup-kettle, made with a

double bottom, to prevent burning, is a permanent, ever-

present institution, and the coarsest and most impracticable

meats distilled .through that alembic come out again in

soups, jellies, or savory stews. The toughest cartilage, even

the bones, being first cracked, are here made to give forth

their hidden virtues, and to rise ia delicate and appetizing

forms.

One great law governs all these preparations : the appli-

cation of heat must be gradual, steady, long protracted,

never reaching the point of active boiling. Hours of quiet

simmering dissolve all dissoluble parts, soften the sternest

fibre, and unlock every minute cell in which Nature has

stored away her treasures of nourishment. This carefid

and protracted application of heat and the skillful use of

flavors constitute the two main points in all those nice

preparations of meat for which the French have so manynames—processes by which a delicacy can be imparted to

the coarsest and cheapest food superior to that of the finest

articles under Ifess philosophic treatment.

French soups and stews are a study, and they would

not be an unprofitable one to any person who wishes to

live'with comfort and even elegance on small means.

There is no animal fibre that mil not yield itself up to long-

continued, steady heat. But the difficulty with almost any

of the common servants who call themselves cooks is, that

they have not the smallest notion of the philosophy of the

application of heat. Such a one will complacently tell you

concerning certain meats, that the harder you boil them the

harder they grow—an obvious fact which, under her mode

of treatment by an indiscriminate galloping boil, has fre^

184 THE EOnSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

quently come under her personal observation. If you +el]

her that such meat must stand for six hours in a heat just

below the boiling point, she will probably answer, " Yes,

ma'am," and go on her own way. Or she will let it stand

tUl it bums to the bottom of the kettle—a most common

termination of the experiment.

The only way to make sure of the matter is, either to ob-

taiu a J? rench kettle, or to fit iato an ordinary kettle a false

bottom, ?uch as any tinman may make, that shall leave a

space of an inch or two between the meat and the fire.

This kettle may be maintained in a constant position on

the range, and into it the cook may be instructed to throw

all the fibrous trimmings of meat, all the gristle, tendons,

and bones, having previously broken up these last with a

mallet. Such a kettle, the regular occupant of a French

cooking-stove, which they call the pot au feu, will furnish

the basis for clear, rich soups, or other palatable dishes. This

is ordinarily called " stock."

Clear soup consists of the dissolved juices of the meat

and gelatine of the bones, cleared fron' the fat and fibrous

portions by straining. The grease, which rises to the top of

the fluid, may be easily removed when cold.

English and American soups are often heavy and hot

with spices. There are appreciable tastes in them. Theybui'u your mouth with cayenne, or clove, or allspice. Youcan tell at once what is in them, oftentimes to your sorrow.

But a French soup has a flavor which one recognizes at

once as delicious, yet not to be characterized as due to' any

single condiment ; it is the just blending of many things.

The same remark applies to all their stews, ragouts, and

other delicate preparations. No cook will ever study these

flavors ; but perhaps many co.oks^ mistresses may, and thus

be able to impart' delicacy and comfort to economy.

As to those things called hashes, commonly manufac-

tured by unwatched, untaught cooks out of the remains of

yesterday's meal, let us not dwell too closely on their mem-

GOOD COOKING. 185

ory—compounds of meat, gristle, skin, fat, and burnt fibre,

with a handful of pepper and salt flung at them, dredged

with lumpy flour, watered from the spout of the tea-kettle,

and left to simmer at the cook's convenience while she is

othei*wise occupied. Such are the best performances a

housekeeper can hope for from an untrained cook.

But the cunningly devised minces, the artful preparations

choicely flavored, which may be made of yesterday's repast

—by these is the true domestic artist known. No cook un-

taught by an educated brain ever makes these, and yet

economy is a great gainer by them.

As regards the department of Vegetables, their numberand variety in America are so great that a table might al-

most be furnished by these alone. Generally speaking,

their cooking is a more simple art, and therefore more like-

ly to be found satisfactorily performed, than that of meats.

If only they are not drenched vsdth rancid butter, their ownnative excellence makes itself known in most of the ordi-

nary modes of preparation.

There is, however, one exception. Our staunch old

friend, the potato, is to other vegetables what bread is on

the table. Like bread, it is held as a sort of sine-qua-non ;

like that, it may be made invariably palatable by a little

care in a few plain particulars, through neglect of which

it often becomes intolerable. The soggy, waxy, indigesti-

ble viand that often appears in the potato-dish is a down-

right sacrifice of the better nature of this vegetable.

The potato, nutritive and harmless as it appears, belongs

to a family suspected of very dangerous traits. It is a

family connection of the deadly-nightshade and other ill-re-

puted gentry, and sometimes shows strange proclivities to

e^dl—now breaking out uproariously, as in. the noted pota-

to-rot, and now more covertly, in various evil affections.

For this reason scientific directors bid us beware of the war

ter in which potatoes are boiled—into which, it appears, the

evil principle is drawn off; and they caution us not to shred,


them into stews without previously suffering the slices to lie

for an hour or so in salt and water. These cautions are

worth attention.

The fnost usual modes of preparing the potato for the ta-

ble are by roasting or boiling. These processes are so^sim-

ple that it is commonly supposed every cook understands

them without special directions ; and yet there, is scarcely

an uninstructed cook who can boil or roast a potato.

A good roasted potato is a delicacy worth a dozen com

positions of the cook-book;yet when we ask for it, what

burnt, shriveled abortions are presented to us ! Biddy

rushes to her potato-basket and pours out two dozen of dif-

ferent sizes, some having in them three times the amount of

matter of others. These being washed, she tumbles them

into her oven at a leisure interval, and there lets them lie till

it is time to serve breakfast, whenever that may be. As a

result, if the largest are cooked, the smallest are presented

in cinders, and the intermediate sizes are withered and wa-

tery. Nothing is so utterly ruined by a few moments of

overdoing. That which at the right moment was plumpwith mealy richness, a quarter of an hour later shrivels

and becomes watery—and it is in this state that roast pota-

toes are most frequently served.

In the same manner we have seen boiled potatoes from

an untaught cook coming upon the table like lumps of yel-

low wax—and the same article, under the directions of a

skillful mistress, appearing in snowy balls of powdery w-hite-

ness. In the one case, they were thrown in their skins into

water, and suffered to soak or boil, as the case might be, at

the cook's leisure, and after they were boiled to stand in

the water till she was ready to peel them. In the other

case, the potatoes being first peeled were boiled as quickly

as possible in salted water, which the moment they weredone was drained off, and then they were gently shaken

for a moment or two over the fire to dry them still morethoroughly. "We have never yet seen the potato so de-

GOOD COOKING. 18/

praved and given over to evil that it could not be reclaimedby this mode of treatment.

As to fried potatoes, who that remembers the crisp, gold-

en slices of the French restaurant, thin as wafers and light

as snow-flakes, does not speak respectfully of them ? "Whatcousinship with these have those coarse, greasy masses of

sliced potato, wholly soggy and partly burnt, to which weare treated under the name of fried potatoes in America ?

In our cities the restaurants are introducing the Frencharticle to great acceptance, and to the vindication of the

fair fame of this queen of vegetables.

Finally, we arrive at the last great head of our subject,

to wit

—

Tea—meaning thereby, as before observed, whatour Hibernian friend did in the inquiry, " "Will y'r honor

take ' tay tay ' or coffee tay ?"

"We are not about to enter into the merits of the great

tea-and-coffee controversy, further than in our general cau-

tion concerning them in the chapter on Healthful Drinks

;

but we now proceed to treat of them as actual existences,

and speak only of the modes of making the best of them.

The French coffee is reputed the best in the world ; and

a thousand voices have asked, "What is it about the French

coffee ?

In the first place, then, the French coffee is coffee, and

not chickory, or rye, or beans, or peas. In the second

place, it is freshly roasted, whenever made—^roasted with

great care and evenness in a little revolving cylinder which

makes part of the furniture of every kitchen, and which

keeps in the aroma of the berry. It is never overdone, so

as to destroy the coffee-flavor, which is in nine cases out of

ten the fault of the coffee we meet with. Then it is ground,

and placed in a coffee-pot with a filter through which, when

it has yielded up its life to the boiling water poured upon

it, the delicious extract percolates in clear drops, the coffee-

pot standing on a heated stove to maintain the temperature.

The nose of the coffee-pot is stopped up to prevent the efr

][88 THE HOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

cape of the aroma during this process. The extract thua

obtained is a perfectly clear, dark fluid, known as cafinoir,

or black coffee. It is black only because of its strength,

being in fact almost the very essential oil of coffee. A ta-

ble-spoonful of this in boiled milk would make what is or-

dinarily called a strong cup of coffee. , The boiled milk is

prepared with no less care. It must be fresh and new, not

merely warmed or even brought to the boiling-point, but

slowly simmered till it attains a thick, creamy richness. The

coffee mixed with this, and sweetened with that sparkling

beet-root sugar which ornaments a French table, is the cele-

brated cafi-au-lait, the name of which has gone round the

world.

As we look to France for the best coffee, so we must look

to England for the perfection of tea. The tea-kettle is as

much an English institution as aristocracy or the Prayer-

Book ; and when one wants to know exactly how tea should

be made, one has only to ask how a fine old English house-

keeper makes it.

The first article of her faith is, that the water must not

merely be hot, not merely have hoihd a few moments since,

but be actually loilmg at the moment it touches the tea.

Hence, though servants in England are vastly better trained

than with us, this delicate mystery is seldom left to their

hands. Tea-making belongs to the drawing-room, and high-

born ladies preside at " the bubbling and loud hissing urn,"

and see that all due. rites and solemnities are properly pe>formed—that the cups are hot, and that the infused tea

waits the exact time before the libations commence.

Of .late, the introduction of English breakfast-tea has

raised a new sect among the tea-drinkers, reversing some of

the old canons. Breakfast-tea must be boiled ! Unlike

the delicate article of olden time, which required only a

momentary infusion to develop its richness, this requires a

longer and severer treatment to bring out its strength

—

thus confasing all the established usages, and throwing the

GOOD COOKING. 189

work into tLe hands of the cook in the kitchen. Thefaults of tea, as too commonly found at our hotels andboarding-houses, are, that it is made in every way the

reverse of what it should be. The water is hot, perhaps,

but not boiling; the tea lias a general flat, stale, smokytaste, devoid of life or spirit ; and it is served usually with

thin mUk, instead of cream. Cream is as essential to the

richness of tea as of coffee. Lacking cream, boiled milk is

better than cold.

Chocolate is a French and Spanish article, and one sel-

dom served on American tables. We in America, however,

make an article every way equal to any which can be im-

ported from Paris, and he who buys the best vanilla-choco-

late may rest assured that no foreign land can furnish any

thing better. A very rich and delicious beverage may be

made by dissolving this ia milk, slowly boiled down after

the French fashion.

A word now under the head of Confectionery, meaning

by this the whole range of ornamental cookery—or pastry,

ices, jellies, preserves, etc. The art of making all these

very perfectly is far better understood in America than the

art of common cooking. There are more women whoknow how to make good cake than good bread—^more whocan fbmish you with a good ice-cream than a weU-cooked

m.'utton-chop ; a fair charlotte-russe is easier to gain than

a perfect cup of coffee ; and you shall find a sparkling

jelly to your dessert where you sighed in vain for so sim-

ple a luxury as a well-cooked potato.

Our fair countrywomen might rest upon their laurels in

these higher fields, and turn their great energy and ingenu-

ity to the study of essentials. To do common things per-

fectly is far better worth our endeavor than to do uncom-

mon things respectably. We Americans ia many things as

yet have been a little inclined to begin making our shirt at

the ruffle ; but, nevertheless, when we set about it, we can

make the shirt as nicely as any body ; it needs only that we


turn our attention to it, resolved that, ruffle or no raffle,

the shirt we will h-ave.

A few words as to the prevalent ideas in respect to

French cookery. Having heard much of it, with no very

distinct idea of what it is, our people have somehow fallen

into the notion that its forte lies in high spicing—and so

when our cooks put a great abundance of clove, mace, nut-

meg, and cinnamon into their preparations, they fancy

that they are growing,, up to be French cooks. But the

fact is, that the Americans and English are far more given

to spicing than the French. Spices in our made dishes

are abundant, and their taste is strongly pronounced. Liv-

ing a year in France one forgets the taste of nutmeg, clove,

and allspice, which abounds in so many dishes in Ameri-

ca. The English and Americans deal in spices, the French

in fla/oors— flavors many and fine, imitating often in

their delicacy those subtle blendings which nature pro-

duces in high-flavored fruits. The recipes of our cookery-

books are most of them of English origin, coming down

from the times of our phlegmatic ancestors, when the solid,

burly, beefy growth of the foggy island required the heat

of fiery condiments, and could digest heavy sweets. Wit-

ness the national recipe for plum-pudding : which may be

rendered : Take a pound of every indigestible substance

you can think of, boil into a cannon-ball, 4nd serve in

flaming brandy. So of the Christmas mince-pie, and

many other national dishes. But in America, owing to

our brighter skies and more fervid climate, we have devel-

oped an acute, nervous delicacy of temperament far more

akin to that of France than of England.

Half of the recipes in our cook-books are mere murder

to such constitutions and stomachs as we grow here. Werequire to ponder these things, and think how we, in our,

climate and under our circumstances, ought to live ; and in

doing so, we may, without accusation of foreign foppery,

take some leaves from many foreign books.

ZIV.

EAIJLT ElSmO.

Theee is no practice which has been more extensively

eulogized in all ages than early rising ; and this universal

impression is an indication that it is foimded on true philo-

sophy. For it is rarely the case that the common sense of

mankind fastens on a practice as really beneficial, especially

one that demands self-denial, without some 'substantial

reason.

This practice, which may justly be called a domestic vir-

tue, is one which has a peculiar claim to be styled American

and democratic. The distiactive mark of aristocratic nations

is a disregard of the great mass, and a disproportionate re-

gard for the interests of certain privileged orders. AU the

customs and habits of such a nation are, to a greater or less

extent, regulated by this principle. Now the mass of any

nation must always consist of persons who labor at occupa-

tions which demand the light of day. But in aristocratic

countries, especially in England, labor is regarded as the

mark of the lower classes, and indolence is considered as

one mark of a gentleman. This impression has gradually

and imperceptibly, to a great extent, regulated their cus-

toms, so that, even in their hours of meals and repose, the

higher orders aim at being different and distinct from those

who, by laborious pursuits, are placed below them. From

this circumstance, while the lower orders labor by day and

sleep at night, the rich, the noble, and the honored sleep by

day, and follow their pursuits and pleasures by night.

It will be found that the aristocracy of London breakfast


near midday, dine after dark, visit and go to Parliament be

tween ten and twelve at night, and retii'e to Bleep toward

morning. In consequence of tHs, tlie subordinate classes

who aim at gentility gradually fall into the same practice.

Tlie influence oi this custom extends across the ocean, and

here, in this democratic land, we find many who measure

tlieir grade of gentility by the late hour at which they arrive

at a party. And this aristocratic folly is growing upon us,

60 that, throughout the nation, the hours for visiting and

retiring are constantly becoming later, while the hours for

rising correspond in lateness.

The question, then, is one which appeals to American

women, as a matter of patriotism and as having a bearing on

those great principles of democracy which we conceive to

be equally the principles of Christianity. Shall we form

our customs on the assumption that labor is degrading and

indolence genteel ? Shall we assume, by our practice, that

the interests of the great mass are to be sacrificed for the

pleasures and honors of a privileged few ? Shall we ape the

customs of aristocratic lands, in those very practices which

result from principles and institutions that we condemn?

Shall we not rather take the place to which we are entitled,

as the leaders, rather than the followers, in the customs of

society, turnback the tide of aristocratic inroads, and carry

through the whole, not only of civil and political but of

social and domestic life, the true principles of democratic

freedom and equality ? The following considerations mayserve to strengthen an affirmative decision.

The first relates to the health of a family. It is a uni-

versal law of physiology, that all living things flourish best

in the light. Yegetables, in a dark cellar, grow pale and

spindling. Children brought up in mines are always wanand stunted, while men become pale and cadaverous wholive under ground. This indicates the folly of losing the

genial influence which the light of day produces on all

animated creation.

EABLT mSUfO. 193

Sir James "Wylie, of the Eussian imperial service, states

that in the soldiers' barracks, three times as many weretaken sick on the shaded side as on the sunny side ; thoughboth sides commimicated, and discipline, diet, and treatment

were the same. The eminent French surgeon, Dupuytren,ciu-ed a lady whose complicated diseases baffled for years

his own and all other medical skill, by taking her from a

dark room to an abundance of daylight.

Florence Nightingale writes :" Seoond only to fresh air

in importance for the sick is light. Not only daylight but

direct sunlight is necessary to speedy recovery, except in a

small number of cases. Instances, almost endless, could be

given where, in dark wards, or wards with only northern

exposure, or wards with borrowed light, even when proper-

ly ventilated, the sick could not be, by any means, madespeedily to recover."

In the prevalence of cholera, it was invariably the case

that deaths were more numerous in shaded streets or in

houses having only northern exposures than in those having

sunlight. Several physicians have stated to the writer that,

in sunny exposures, women after childbirth gained strength

much faster than those excluded from sunlight. In the

writer's experience, great nervous debility has been always

immediately lessened by sitting in the sun, and still more bylying on the earth and in open air, a blanket beneath, and

head and eyes protected, under the direct rays of the sun.

Some facts in physiology and natural philosophy have a

bearing on this subject. It seems to be settled that the red

color of blood is owing to iron contained in the red blood-

cells, while it is established as a fact that the sun's rays are

metallic, having " vapor of iron " as one element. It is also

true that want of light causes a diminution of the red and

an increase of the imperfect white blood-cells, and that this

sometimes results in a disease called leucoemia, while all

who live in the dark have pale and waxy skins, and flabby,

weak musclesi Thus it would seem that it is the sun that

J94 THE HOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

imparts the iron and color to the blood. These things be-

ing so, the customs of society that bring sleeping hours into

daylight, and working and study hours into the night, are

direct violations of the laws of health. The laws of health

are the laws of God, and " sin is the transgression of law."

To this we must add the great neglect of economy as

well as health in substituting unhealthful gaslight, poison-

ous, anthracite warmth, for the life-giving light and warmth

of the sun. Millions and millions would be saved to this

nation in fuel and light, as well as in health, by returning

to the good old ways of our forefathers, to rise with the

sun, and retire to rest "when the bell rings for nine

o'clock."

The observations of medical men, whose inquiries have

been directed to this point, have decided that from six to

eight hours is the amount of sleep demanded by persons in

health. Some constitutions require as much as eight, and

others no more than six hours of repose. But eight hours

is the maximum for all persons in ordinary health, with or-

dinary occupations. In cases of extra physical exertions,

or the debility of disease, or a decayed constitution, more

than this is required. Let eight hours, then, be regarded

as the ordinary period required for' sleep by an indus-

trious people like the Americans.

It thus appears that the laws of our political condition,

the laws of the natural world, and the constitution of our

bodies, alike demand that we rise with the light of day to

prosecute our employments, and that we retire in time for

the requisite amount of sleep.

In regard to the effects of protracting the time spent in

repose, many extensive and satisfactory investigations have

been made. It has been shown that, during sleep, the body

perspires most freely, while yet neither food nor exercise

are ministering to its wants. Of course, if we continue our

slumbers beyond the time required to restore the body to

its usual vigor, there is an unperceived imdermining of the

EARLT RISINB. 195

constitution, by this protracted and debilitating exhalation.

This process, in a course of years, renders tbe body deli-

cate and less able to withstand disease, and in the result

shortens life. Sir John Sinclair, who has written a large

work on the Causes of Longevity, states, as one result of

his extensive investigations, that he has never yet heardor read of a single case of great longevity where the indi-

vidual was not an early riser. He says that he has foundcases in which the individual has violated some one of all

the other laws of health, and yet lived to great age ; but

never a single instance in which any constitution has with-

stood that undermining consequent on protracting the

hours of repose beyond the demands of the system.

Another reason for early rising is, that it is indispensa-

ble to a systematic and well-regulated family. At what-

ever hour the parents retire, children and domestics, weari-

ed by play or labor, must retire early. Children usually

awake with the dawn of light, and commence their play,

while domestics usually prefer the freshness of morning for

their labors. If, then, the parents rise at a late hour, they

either induce a habit of protracting sleep in their children

and domestics, or else the family are up, and at their pur-

suits, while their supervisors are in bed.

Any woman who asserts that her children and domestics, in

the first hours of day, when their spirits are freshest, will

be as well regulated without her presence as with it, con-

fesses that which surely is little for her credit. It is, be-

lieved that any candid woman, whatever may be her ex-

cuse for late rising, will concede that if she could rise early

it would be for the advantage of her family. A late break-

fast puts back the work, through the whole day, for every

member of a family ; and if the parents thus occasion the

loss of an hour or two to each individual who, but for

their delay in the morning, would be usefully employed,

they alone are responsible for all this waste of time.

But the practice of early rising has a relation to the gene-

196 THE EOVSEKEEPEE'S MANUAL.

ral interests of the social commimity, as well as to that of

each distinct family. All that great portion of the com-

munity who are employed in business and labor find it

needful to rise early; and all their hours of meals, and

their appointments for business or pleasure, must be accom-

modated to these arrangements. Now, if a small portion

of the community establish very different hours, it makes

a kind of jostling in all the concerns and interests of so-

ciety. The various appointments for the public, such as

meetings, schools, and business hours, must be accommodated

to the mass, and not t^ individuals. The few, then, whoestablish domestic habits at variance with the majority, are

either constantly interrupted in their own arrangements, or

else are iaterferiug with the rights and interests of others.

This is exemplified in the case of schools. In families

where late rising is practiced, either hurry, irregularity,

and neglect are engendered in the family, or else the inte-

rests of the school, and thus of the community, are sacri-

ficed. In this, and many other matters, it can be shown

that the well-being of the bulk of the people is, to a great-

er or less extent, impaired by this self-indulgent practice.

Let any teacher select the impimctual scholars—a class whomost seriously interfere with the interests of the school

—

and let men of business select those who cause them most

waste of time and vexation, by impunctuality ; and it will

be found that they are generally among the late risers,

and rarely among those who rise early. Thus, late rising

not only injxu'es the person and family which indulge in

it, but interferes with the rights and convenience of the

community ; while early rising imparts corresponding ben-

efits of health, promptitude, vigor of action, economy of

tmie, and general effectiveness both to the individuals whopractice it and to the families and community of whichthey are a part.

XV.

DOMESTIC MAOTTEES.

Good majstnees are the expressions of benevolence in

personal intercourse, by which we endeavor to promote the

comfort and enjoyment of others, and to avoid all that gives

needless imeasiness. It is the exterior exhibition of the di

vine precept, which requires us to do to others as we wouldthat they should do to us. It is saying, by our deportment,

to all around, that we consider their feelings, tastes, and

conveniences, as equal in value to our own.

Good manners lead us to avoid all practices which offend

the taste of others ; all unnecessary violations of the con-

ventional rules of propriety; all rude and disrespectful

language and deportment ; and all remarks which would

tend to wound the feelings of others.

There is a serious defect in the manners of the American

people, especially among the descendants of the Puritan

settlers of New-England, which can nevei be efficiently

remedied, except in the domestic circle, and during early

life. It is a deficiency iu the free expressiv n of kindly

feelings and sympathetic emotions, and a want of courtesy

in deportment. The causes which have led to this result

may easily be traced.

The forefathers of this nation, to a wide exteiit, were

men who were driven from their native land by laws and

customs which they believed to be opposed both to civil and

religious freedom. The sufferings they were called to en-

dure, the subduing of those gentler feelings which bind us

to country, kindred, and home ; and the constant subordina-

198 TEE BOUSEKEEPER-S MANUAL.

tion of the passions to stern principle, induced characters of

'

great firmness and self-control. They gave up the comforts

and refinements of a civilized country, and came as pilgrims

to a hard soil, a cold clime, and a heathen shore. They

were continually forced to encounter danger, privations,

sickness, loneliness, and death ; and all these their religion

taught them to meet with calmness, fortitude, and submis-

sion. And thus it became the custom and habit ,f the

whole mass, to repress rather than to encourage the expres-

sion of feeling.

Persons who are called to constant and protracted suffer-

ing and privation are forced to subdue and conceal emotion

;

for the free expression of it would double their own suffer-

ing, and ipcrease the sufferings of others. Those, only, whoare free from care and anxiety, and whose minds are mainly

occupied by cheerful emotions, are at full liberty to unvaU

their feelings.

It was under such stern and rigorous discipline that the

first children in New-England were reared ; and the man-

ners and habits of parents are usually, to a great extent,

transmitted to children. Thus it comes to pass, that the

descendants of the Puritans, now scattered over every part'

of the nation, are predisposed to conceal the gentler emo-

tions, while their manners are calm, (iecided, and cold,

rather than free and impulsive. Of course, there are very

many exceptions to these predominating characteristics.

Other causes to which we may attribute a general want

of courtesy in manners are certain incidental results of our

domestic institutions. Our ancestors and their descendants

have constantly been combating the aristocratic principle

which would exalt one class of men at the expense of an-

other. They have had to contend with this principle, not

only in civil but in social life. Almost every American, in

his own person as well as in behalf of his class, has had to

assume and defend the main principle of democracy—^that

every man's feelings and interests are equal in value to

DOMESTIC MANNERS. igg

those of every other man. But, in doing this, there has

been some want of clear discrimination. Because claims

based on distinctions of mere birth, fortune, or position,

were found to be injurious, many have gone to the extreme

of inferring that all distinctions, involving subordinations,

are useless. Such would wrongfully regard children as

equals to parents, pupils to teachers, domestics to their em-

ployers, and subjects to magistrates—and that, too, in all

respects.

The fact that certain grades of superiority and subordi-

nation are needful, both for individual and public benefit,

has not been clearly discerned ; and there has been a gradual

tendency to an extreme of the opposite view which has

sensibly aflfected our manners. All the proprieties and

courtesies which depend on the recognition of the relative

duties of superior and subordinate have been warred upon

;

and thus we see, to an increasing extent, disrespectful treat-

ment of parents, by children ; of teachers, by pupils ; of

employers, by domestics ; and of the aged, by the young.

In all classes and circles, there is a gradual decay in courtesy

of address.

In cases, too, where kindness is rendered, it is often ac-

companied with a cold, unsympathizing manner, which

greatly lessens its value ; while kindness or politeness is re-

ceived in a similar style of coolness, as if it were but the

payment of a just due.

It is owing to these causes that the American people,

especially the descendants of the Puritans, do not do them-

selves justice. For, while those who are near enough to

learn their real character and feelings can discern the most

generous impulses, and the most kindly sympathies, they

are often so vailed behind a composed and indifferent de-

meanor, as to be almost entirely concealed from strangers.

These defects in our national manners it especially falls

to the care of mothers, and all who have charge of the

Toung, to rectify ; and if they seriously undertake the mat-


ter, and wisely adapt means to ends, these defects will oe

remedied. With reference to this object, the following

ideas are suggested.

The law of Christianity and of democracy, which teaches

that all men are bom equal in rights, and that their interests

and feehngs should be regarded as of equal value, seems to

be adopted in aristocratic circles, with exclusive reference

to the class in which the iadividual moves. The courtly

gentleman addresses all of his own class with politeness and

respect ; and in all his actions, seems to allow that the feel-

ings and convenience of these others are to be regarded the

same as his own. But his demeanor to those of inferior

station is not based on the same rule.

Among those who make up aristocratic circles, such as

are above them are deemed of superior, and such as are be-

low of inferior, value. Thus, if a young, ignorant, and

vicious coxcomb happens to have been born a lord, the aged,

the virtuous, the learned, and the well-bred of another class

must give his convenience the precedence, and must address

him in terms of respect. So sometimes, when a man of

" noble birth" is thi'own among the lower classes, he de-

means himself in a style which, to persons of his own class,

would be deemed the height of assumption and rudeness.

Now, the principles of democracy require that the same

courtesy which we accord to our own circle shall be extend-

ed to every class and condition ; and that distinctions of su-

periority and subordination shall depend, not on accidents

of birth, fortune, or occupation, but solely on those mutual

relations which the good of all classes equally require.

The distinctions demanded in a democratic state are sim-

ply those which result from relations that are common to

every class, and are for the benefit of all.

It is for the benefit of every class that children be subor-

dinate to parents, pupils to teachers, the employed to their

employers, and subjects to magistrates. In addition to this,

it is for the general well-being that the comfort or conven-

DOMESTIC MANNERS. 201

ience of tlie delicate and feeble should be preferred to that

of the strong and healthy, who would suffer less by any de-

privation; that precedence should be given to their elders

by the young ; and that reverence should be given to the

hoary head.

The rules of good-breeding, in a democratic state, mustbe founded on these principles. It is indeed assumed that

the value of the happiness of each individual is the sameas that of every other; but as there must be occasions

where there are advantages which all can not enjoy, there

must be general rules for regulating a selection. Otherwise,

there would be constant scrambling among those of equal

claims, and brute force must be the final resort ; in which

case, the strongest would have the best of every thing. Thedemocratic rule, then, is, that superiors in age, station, or

office have precedence of subordinates ; age and feebleness,

of youth and strength ; and the feebler sex, of more vigor-

ous man.*

There is, also, a style of deportment and address which

is appropriate to these different relations. It is suitable for

a superior to secure compliance with his wishes from those

subordinate to him by commands ; but a subordinate must

secure compliance with his wishes from a superior byre-

quests. (Although the kind and considerate manner to sub-

ordinates will always be found the most effective as well as

the pleasantest, by those in superior station.) It is suitable

for a parent, teacher, or employer to admonish for neglect

of duty ; but not for an inferior to adopt such a course to-

ward a superior. It is suitable for a superior to take pre-

cedence of a subordinate, without any remark ; but not

for an inferior, without previously asking leave, or offering

* The tmiversal practice of this nation, in thus giving precedence to

woman has been severely commented on by foreigners, and by some who

•would transfer all the business of the other sex to women, and then have

them treated like men. But we hope this evidence of our superior civUiza^

tion and Christianity may increase rather than diminish.


an apology. It is proper for a superior to use language

and manners of freedom and familiarity, which would be

improper from a subordinate to a superior.

The want of due regard to these proprieties occasions a

great defect in American manners. It is very common to

hear children talk to their parents in a style proper only

between companions and equals; so, also, the young ad-

dress their felders; those employed, their employers; and

domestics, the members of the faniily and their visitors,

in a style which is inappropriate to their relative positions.

But courteous address is required not merely toward supe-

riors ; every person desires to be thus treated, and therefore

the law of benevolence demands such demeanor toward all

whom we meet in the social intercourse of life. " Be ye

courteous," is the direction of the apostle in reference to

our treatment of all.

Good manners can be successfully cultivated only in

early life and in the domestic circle. There is nothing

which depends so much upon JiaMt as the constantly recur-

ring proprieties of good breeding ; and if a child grows up

without forming such habits, it is very rarely the case that

they can be formed at a later period. The feeling that it is

of little consequence how we behave at home if we con-

duct ourselves properly abroad, is a very fallacious one.

Persons who are careless and ill-bred at home may ima-

gine that they can assume good manners abroad ; but they

mistake. Fixed habits of tone, manner, language, and

movements can not be suddenly altered ; and those whoare iU-bred at home, even when they try to hide their bad

habits, are sure to violate many of the obvious rules of pro.

priety, and yet be unconscious of it.

And there is nothing which would so effectually remove

prejudice against our democratic institutions as the gene-

ral cultivation of good-breeding in the domestic circle.

Good manners are the exterior of benevolence, the niinute

and constant exhibitions of " peace and good-will ;" and the


nation, as well as the individual, whicli most excels in theexternal demonstxation, as well as the internal principle,

will be most respected and beloved.

It is only the training of the family state according to

its true end and aim that is to secure to woman her true

position and rights. When the family is instituted by mar-riage, it is man who is the head and chief magistrate bythe force of his physical power and requirement of the

chief responsibility ; not less is he so according to the Chris-

tian law, by which, when differences arise, the husbandhas the deciding control, and the wife is to obey. " Wherelove is, there is no law ;" but where lovt is not, the only

dignified and peaceful coujse is for the wife, however muchhis superior, to " submit, as to God and not to man."

But this power of nature and of religion, given to manas the controlling head, involves the distinctive duty of the

family state, self-sacrificing love. The husband is to " hon-

or " the wife, to love her as himself, and thus account her

wishes and happiness as of equal value with his own. But

more than this, he is to love her " as Christ loved the

Church ;" that is, he is to " suffer" for her, if need be, in

order to support and elevate and ennoble her.

The father then is to set the example of self-sacrifi-

cing love and devotion ; and the mother, of Christian obe-

dience when it is required. Every boy is to be trained for

his future dopiestic position by labor and sacrifices for his

mother and sisters. It is the brother who is to do the hard-

est and most disagreeable work, to face the storms and per-

form the most laborious drudgeries. In the family circle,

too, he is to give his mother and sister precedence in all

the conveniences and comforts of home life.

It is only those nations where the teachings and example

of Christ have had most influence that man has ever as-

simaed his obligations of self-sacrificing benevolence in the

family. And even in Christian communities, the duty of

wives to obey their husbands has been more strenuously


urged than the ohligations of the husband to love his wife

" as Christ lored the Church."

Here it is needful to notice that the distinctive duty of

obedience to man does not rest on women who do not enter

the relations of married life. A woman who inherits pro-

perty, or who earns her own livelihood, can institute the

family state, adopt orphan children and employ suitable

helpers in training them ; and then to her will appertain the

authority and rights that belong to man as the head of a

family. And when every woman is trained to some self-sup-

porting business, she will not be tempted to enter the fami-

ly state as a subordinate, except by that love for which there

is no need of law.

These general principles being stated, some details in re-

gard to domestic manners will be enumerated.

In the first place, there should be required in the family

a strict attention to the rules of precedence, and those

modes of address appropriate to the various relations to be

sustained. Children should always be required to offer

their superiors, in age or station, the precedence in all com-

forts and conveniences, and always address them in a re-

spectful tone and manner. The custom of adding, " Sir," or

" Ma'am," to " Tes," or " No," is valuable, as a perpetual

indication of a respectful recognition of superiority. It is

now going out of fashion, even among the most well bred

people;probably from a want of consideration of its im-

portance. Every remnant of courtesy of address, iu our

customs, should be carefully cherished, by all who feel a

value for the proprieties of good breeding.

If parents allow their children to talk to them, and to

the grown persons in the famUy, in the same style in which

they address each other, it will be in vain to hope for the

courtesy of manner and tone which good breeding demands

in the general intercourse of society. In a large family,

where the elder children are grown up, and the younger

are small, it is important to require the latter to treat the


elder in some sense as superiors. There are none so ready

as young children to assume airs of equality ; and if they

are allowed to treat one class of superiors in age and cha-

racter disrespectfully, they will soon use the privilege uni-

versally. This is the reason why the youngest children of

a family are most apt to be pert, forward, and unmannerly.

Another point to be aimed at is, to require children al-

ways to acknowledge every act of kindness and attention,

either by words or manner. If they are so trained as al-

ways to make grateful acknowledgments, when receiving

favors, one of the objectionable features in American manners will be avoided.

Again, children should be required to ask leave, when-

ever they wish to gratify curiosity, or use an article which

belongs to another. And if cases occur, when they can not

comply with the rules of good-breediag, as, for instance,

when they must step between a person and the fire, or take

the chair of an older person, they should be taught either

to ask leave, or to offer an apology.

There is another point of good-breeding, which can not,

in all cases, be understood and applied by children in its

widest extent. It is that which requires us to avoid all re-

marks which tend to embarrass, vex, mortify, or in any

way wound the feelings of another. To notice personal

defects ; to allude to others' faults, or the faults of their

friends; to speak disparagingly of the sect or party to

which a person belongs ; to be inattentive when addressed

in conversation ; to contradict flatly ; to speak in contemp-

tuous tones of opinions expressed by another; all these

are violations of the rules of good-breeding, which children

should be taught to regard. Under this head comes the

practice of whispering and staring about, when a teacher,

or lecturer, or clergyman is addressing a class or audience.

Such inattention is practically saying that what the person

is uttering is not worth attending to; and persons of real

good-breeding always avoid it. Loud talking and laughing


in a large assembly, even when no exercises are going on

;

yawning and gaping in company ; and not' looking in tlie

face a person who is addressing yon, are deemed marks of

ill-breeding.

Another branch of good manners relates to the duties

of hospitality. Politeness requires us to welcome visitors

with cordiality ; to offer them the best accommodations ; to

address conversation to them ; and to express, by tone and

manner, kindness and respect. Offering the hand to all

visitors at one's own house is a courteous and hospitable

custom ; and a cordial shake of the hand, when friends

meet, would abate much of the coldness of manner ascrib-

ed to Americans.

Another point of good breeding refers to the conven-

tional rules of propriety and good taste. Of these, the

first class relates to the avoidance of all disgusting or

offensive personal habits: such as fingering the hair; ob-^

trusively using a toothpick, or carrying one in the mouth

after the needful use of it ; cleaning the nails in presence of

others;picking the nose ; spitting on carpets ; snuffing in-

stead of using a handkerchief, or using the article in an of-

fensive manner ; lifting up the boots or shoes, as some men

do, to tend them on the knee, or to finger them : all these

tricks, either at home or in society, children should be taught

to avoid.

Another topic, under this head, may be called tdbh

manners. To persons of good-breeding, nothing is more

annoying than violations of the conventional proprieties of

the table. Reaching over anotherperson's plate; standing up,

to reach distant articles, instead of asking to have them

passed ; using one's own knife and spoon for butter, salt,

or sugar, when it is the custom of the family to provide

separate utensils for the purpose ; setting cups with the tea

dripping from them, on the table-cloth, instead of the mats

or small plates furnished ; using the table-cloth instead of

the napkins ; eating fast, and in a noisy manner;putting


large pieces in the mouth ; looking and eating as if veryhungry, or as if anxious to get at certain dishes ; sittiiig at

too great a distance from the table, and dropping food;laying the knife and fork on the table-cloth, instead of on

the edge of the plate; picking the teeth at table: all these

particulars children should be taught to avoid.

It is always desirable, too, to train children, when at ta-

ble with grown persons, to be silent, except when addressed

by others ; or else , their chattering will interrupt the con-

versation and comfort of their elders. They should always

be required, too, to wait in silence, till all the older persons

are helped.

When children are alone with their parents, it is desirable

to lead them to converse and to take this as an opportunity

to form proper conversational habits. But it should be a

fixed rule that, when strangers are present, the children are

.to listen in silence and only reply when addressed. Unless

this is secured, visitors will often be condemned to listen to

puerile chattering, with small chance of the proper atten-

tion due to guests and superiors in age and station.

.Children should be trained, in preparing themselves for

the table or for appearance among the family, not only to

put their hair, face, and hands in neat order, but also their

nails, and to habitually attend to this latter whenever they

wash their hands.

There are some very disagreeable tricks which manychildren practice even in families counted well-bred. Such,

for example, are drumming with the fingers on some piece

of furniture, or humming a tune while others are talking,

or interrupting conversation by pertinacious questions, or

whistling in the house' instead of out-doors, or speaking

several at once and in loud voices to gain attention. All

these are violations of good-breeding, which children should

be trained to avoid, lest they should not only annoy as chil-

dren, but practice the same kind of ill manners when ma

ture. In all assemblies for public debate, a chairman or


moderator is appointed whose business it is to see that oulj

one person speaks at a time, that no one interrupts a person

when speaking, that no needless noises are made, and that

all indecorums are avoided. Such an officer is sometimes

greatly needed in family circles.

Children should be encouraged freely to use limgs and

limbs out-doors, or in hours for sport in the house; But a1

other times, in the domestic circle, gentle tones and man-

ners should be cultivated. The words gentleman and gentle-

woman came originally from the fact that the uncultivated

and ignorant classes used coarse and loud tones, and rough

words and movements ; while only the refined circles habit-

ually used gentle tones and gentle manners. For the same

reason, those born in the higher circles were called " of gen-

tle blood." Thus it came that a coarse and loud voice, and

rough, ungentle manners, are regarded as vulgar and ple-

beian.

All these things should be taught to children, gradually,

and with great patience and gentleness. Some parents,

with whom good manners are a great object, are in danger of

making their children perpetually uncomfortable, by sud-

denly surrounding them with so many rules that they must

inevitably violate some one or other a great part of the

time. It is much better to begin with a few rules, and be

steady and persevering with these, till a habit is formed,

and then take a few more, thus making the process easy

and gradual. Otherwise, the temper of children will be in-

jured; or, hopeless of fulfilling so many requisitions, they

will become reckless and indifferent to all.

If a few brief, well-considered, and sensible rules of goodmanners could be suspended in every school-room, and the

children all required to commit them to memory, it proba-

bly would do more to remedy the defects of Americanmanners and to advance universal good-breeding tha,n anyother mode that could be so easily adopted.

But, in reference to those who have enjoyed advantages


for the cultivation of good maimers, and wto duly estimate

its importance, one caution is necessary. Those who never

have had such habits formed in youth are under disadvan-

tages which no benevolence of temper can altogether remedy.

They may often violate the tastes and feelings of others, not

from a want of proper regard for them, but from ignorance

of custom, or want of habit, or abstraction of mind, or

from other causes which demand forbearance and sympathy,

rather than displeasure, An ability to bear patiently with

defects in manners, and to mate candid and considerate

allowance for a want of advantages, or for peculiarities in

mental habits, is one mark of the benevolence of real good-

breeding.

The advocates of monarchical and aristocratic institutions

have always had great plausibility given to their views, by

the seeming tendencies of our institutions to insubordination

and bad manners. And it has been too indiscriminately

conceded, by the defenders of the latter, that such are these

tendencies, and that the offensive points in American man-

ners are the necessary result of democratic principles.

Eut it is believed that both facts and reasoning are in op-

position to this opinion. The following extract from the

work of De TocqueviUe, the great political philosopher of

France, exhibits the opinion of an impartial observer, when

comparing American manners with those of the English,

who are confessedly the most aristocratic of all people.

He previously remarks on the tendency of aristocracy to

make men more sympathizing with persons of their own

peculiar class, and less so toward those of lower degree

;

and he then contrasts American manners with the English,

claiming that the Americans are much the more affable,

mild, and social. "In America, where the privileges of

birth never existed and where riches confer no peculiar

rights on their possessors,men acquainted with each other are

very ready to frequent the same places, and find neither peril

nor disadvantage in the free interchange of their thoughts.


If they meet by accident, they neither seek nor avoid inter-

course ; their manner is therefore natural, frank, and open."

"If their demeanor is often cold and serious, it is never

haughty or constrained." But an " aristocratic pride is

still extremely great among the English ; and as the limits

of aristocracy are still iU-defined, every body lives in con-

stant dread, lest advantage should be taken of his famili-

arity. Unable to judge, at once, of the social position of

those he meets, an Englishman prudently avoids all contact

with him. Men are afraid, lest some slight service render-

ed should draw them into an unsuitable acquaintance;

they dread civilities, and they avoid the obtrusive gratitude

of a stranger, as much as his hatred."

ThuSj/acfe seem to show that when the most aristocratic

nation in the world is compared, as to manners, with the

most democratic, the judgment of strangers is in favor of

the latter. And if good manners are the outward exhibi-

tion of the democratic principle of impartial benevolence

and equal rights, surely the nation which adopts this rule,

both in social and civil life, is the most likely to secure

the desirable exterior. The aristocrat, by his prmciples, ex-

tends the exterior of impartial benevolence to his own class

only ; the democratic principle requires it to be extended

to all.

There is reason, therefore, to hope and expect more re-

fined and polished manners in America than in any other

land ; while all the developments of taste and refinement,

such as poetry, music, painting, sculpture, and architecture,

it may be expected, will come to as high a state of perfec-

tion here as in any other nation.

If this country increases in virtue and intelligence, as it

may, there is no end to the wealth which will pour in as the

result of our resources of climate, soil, and navigation, and

the skill, industry, energy, and enterprise of our country-

men. This wealth, if used as intelligence and virtue die

fcate, will furnish the means for a superior education to all


classes, and every facility for the refinement of taste, intel-

lect, and feeling.

Moreover, in tMs country, labor is ceasing to be the

badge of a lower class ; so that already it is disreputable

for a man to be " a lazy gentleman." And this feeling

must increase, till there is such an equalization of labor as

will aflford all the time needful for every class to improve

the many advantages offered to them. Already through

the munificence of some of our citizens, there are literary

and scientific advantages offered to all classes, rarely en-

joyed elsewhere. In most of our large cities and towns, the

advantages of education, now offered to the poorest classes,

often without charge, surpass what, some years ago, most

wealthy men could purchase for any price. And it is be-

lieved that a time will come when the poorest boy in

America can secure advantages, which will equal what the

heir of the proudest peerage can now command.

The records of the courts of France and Germany, (as

detailed by the Duchess of Orleans,) in and succeeding the

brilliant reign of Louis the Fourteenth—a period which

was deemed the acme of elegance and refinement—exhibit

a grossness, a vulgarity, and a coarseness, not to be found

among the very lowest of our respectable poor. And the

biography of the English Beau Nash, who attempted to re-

form the manners of the gentry, in the times of Queen

Anne, exhibits violations of the rules of decency among

the aristocracy, which the commonest yeoman of this land

would feel disgraced in perpetrating.

This shows that our lowest classes, at this period, are

more refined than were the highest in aristocratic lands, a

hundred years ago; and another century may show the

lowest classes, in wealth, in this country, attaining as high

a polish as adorns those who now are leaders of good man-

aers in the courts of kings.

XVI.

THE PEESEEVATION OF GOOD TEMPEE IN THE HOUSEKEEPER.

There is nothing whicli has a more abiding influence on

the happiness of a family than the preservation of equable

and cheerful temper and tones in the housekeeper. A wo-

man who is habitually gentle, sympathizing, forbearing, and

cheerful, carries an atmosphere about her which imparts a

soothing and sustaining influence, and renders it easier for

all to do right, under her administration, than in any other

situation.

The writer has known families where the mother's pre-

sence seemed the sunshine of the circle around her ; impart-

ing a cheering and vivifying power, scarcely realized till it

was withdrawn. Every one, without thinking of it, or

knowing why it was so, experienced a peaceful and invigo-

rating influence as soon as he entered the sphere illumined

by her smile, and sustained by her cheering kindness and

sympathy. On the contrary, many a good housekeeper,

(good in every respect but this,) by wearing a countenance

of anxiety and dissatisfaction, and by indulging in the fre-

qiient use of sharp and reprehensive tones, more than de-

stroys all the comfort which otherwise would result from

her system, neatness, and economy.

There is a secret, social sympathy which every mind, to

a greater or less degree, experiences with the feelings of

those around, as they are manifested by the coimtenance

and voice. A sorrowful, a discontented, or an angry coun-

tenance produces a silent, sympathetic influence, imparting

a sombre shade to the mind, while tones of anger or com-

plaint still more efiectually jar the spirits.

GOOD TEMPER IN TME BOUSEKEEPEB. 213

No person can maintain a quiet and cheerful frame ofmind while tones of discontent and displeasm-e are soundingon the ear. "We may gradually accustom ourselves to theevil till it is partially diminished ; but it always is an evil

which greatly interferes with the enjoyment of the familystate. There are sometimes cases where the entrance of

the mistress of a family seems to awaken a slight appre-

hension in every mind around, as if each felt in danger of

a reproof, for something either perpetrated or neglected. Awoman who should go around her house with a small sting-

ing snapper, which she habitually applied to those whomshe met, would be encountered with feelings very muchlike those which are experienced by the inmates of a

family where the mistress often uses her countenance andvoice to inflict similar penalties for duties neglected.

Tet there are many allowances to be made for house-

keepers, who sometimes imperceptibly and unconsciously

fall into such habits. A woman who attempts to carry out

any plans of system, order, and economy, and who has her

feelings and habits conformed to certain rules, is constantly

liable to have her plans crossed, and her taste violated, by

the inexperience or inattention of those about her. And no

housekeeper, whatever may be her habits, can escape the

frequent recurrence of negligence or mistake, which inter-

feres with her plans.

It is probable that there is no class of persons in the

world who have such incessant trials of temper, and temp-

tations to be fretful, as American housekeepers. For

a housekeeper's business is not, like that of the other

Bex, limited to a particular department, for which pre-

vious preparation is made. It consists of ten thousand

little disconnected items, which can never be so systemati-

cally arranged that there is no daily jostling somewhere.

And in the best-regulated families, it is not unfrequently

the case that some act of forgetfulness or carelessness, from

some member, will disarrange the business of the whole


day, so that every lioiir will bring renewed occasion for an-

noyance. And the more strongly a woman realizes the

value of time, and the importance of system and order, the

more will she be tempted to irritability and complaint.

The following considerations may aid in preparing a wo-

,

man to meet such daily crosses with even a cheerful tem-

per and tones.

In the first place, a woman who has charge of a large

household should regard her duties as dignified, important,

and difficult. The mind is so made as to be elevated and

cheered by a sense of far-reaching influence and usefulness.

A woman who feels that she is a cipher, and that it makes

little difference how she performs her duties, has far less to

sustain and invigorate her, than one who truly estimates

the importance of her station. A man who feels that the

destinies of a nation are turning on the judgment and skill

with which he plans and executes, has a pressure of motive

and an elevation of feeling which are great safeguards

against all that is low, trivial, and degrading.

So, an American mother and housekeeper who rightly

estimates the long" train of influence which will pass down

to thousands, whose destinies, from generation to gene-

ration, vrill be modified by those decisions of her will

which regulate the temp'er, principles, and habits of her

family, must be elevated above petty temptations which

would otherwise assail her.

Again, a housekeeper should feel that she really has great

difficulties to meet and overcome. A person who wrongly

thinks there is little danger, can never maintain so faithful

a guard as one who rightly estimates the temptations which

beset her. Nor can one who thinks that they are trifling

difficulties which she has to encounter, and trivial tempta-

tions to which she must yield, so much enjoy the just re-

ward of conscious virtue and self-control as one who takes

an opposite view of the subject.

A third method is, for a woman deliberately to calculate

600D TEMPER IN THE BOUSBKEEPEB. 215

on having her best-arranged plans interfered with veryoften; and to be in such a state of preparation that theevil will not come unawares. So complicated are the pur-suits and so diverse the habits of the various members of afamily, that it is almost impossible for every one to avoidinterfering with the plans and taste of a housekeeper, in

some one point or another. It is, therefore, most wise for

a woman to keep the loins of her mind ever girt, to meetsuch collisions with a cheerful and quiet spirit.

Another important rule is, to form all plans and arrange-

ments in consistency with the means at command, and the

character of those around. A woman who has a heedless

husband, and young children, and incompetent domestics,

ought not to make such plans as one may properly form

who will not, in so many directions, meet embarrassment.

She must aim at just as much as she can probably attain,

and no more ; and thus she will usually escape much temp-

tation, and much of the irritation of disappointment.

The fifth, and a very important consideration, is, that

system, economy, and neatness are valuable, only so far as

they tend to promote the comfort and well-being of those

afiected. Some women seem to act under the impression

that these advantages must be secured, at all events, even

if the comfort of the family be the sacrifice. True, it is

very important that children grow up in habits of system,

neatness, and order ; and it is very desirable- that the mo-

ther give them every incentive, both by precept and example

;

but it is still more important that they grow up with ami-

able tempers, that they learn to meet the crosses of life

with patience and cheerfulness ; and nothing has a greater

infiuence to secure this than a mother's example. When-

ever, therefore, a woman can not accomplish her plans of

neatness and order without injury to her own temper oi

to the temper of others, she ought to modify and reduce

them until she can.

Tlie sixth method relates to the government of the tones


of voice. In many cases, wlien a woman's domestic ar-

rangements are suddenly and seriously crossed, it is impos-

sible not to feel some irritation. But it is always possible

to refrain from angry tones. A woman can resolve that,

whatever happens, she will not speak till she can do it in a

calm and gentle manner. 'Perfect silence is a safe resort,

when such control can not be attained as enables a person

to speak calmly ; and this determination, persevered in, will

eventually be crowned with success.

Many persons seem to imagiue that tones of anger are

needful, in order to secure prompt obedience. But observa-

tion has convinced the writer that they are never necessary

;

that vn all cases, reproof, administered in calm tones, would

be better. A case will be given in illustration.

A young girl had been repeatedly charged to avoid a

certaia arrangement in cooking. On one day, when com-

pany was invited to dine, the direction was forgotten, and

the consequence was an accident, which disarranged every

thing, seriously injured the principal dish, and delayed din-

ner for an hour. The mistress of the family entered the

kitchen just as it occurred, and at a<glance, saw the extent

of the mischief. For a moment, her eyes flashed, and her

cheeks glowed ; but she held her peace. After a minute gr

80, she gave directions in a calm voice, as to the best modeof retrieving the evil, and then left, without a word said to

the offender.

After the company left, she sent for the girl, alone, and

in a calm and kind manner pointed out the aggravations of

the case, and described the trouble which had been caused

to her husband, her visitors, and herself. She then por-

trayed the future evils which would result from such habits

of neglect and inattention, and the modes of attempting to

overcome them ; and then offered a reward for the future,

if, in a given time, she succeeded in improving in this re-

spect. Not a tone of anger was uttered; and yet the

severest scolding of a practiced Xantippe could not have

6001) TEMPER IN TSE HOUSEKEEPER. 217

secured sucli contrition, and determination to reform, as

were gained by this method.

But similar negligence is often visited by a continuous

stream of complaint and reproof, which, in most cases, is

met either by sullen silence or impertinent retort, while

anger prevents any contrition or any resolution of future

amendment.

It is very certain, that some ladies do carry forward a

most efficient government, both of children and domestics,

without employing tones of anger ; and therefore they are

not indispensable, nor on any account desirable.

Though some ladies of intelligence and refinement do

fall unconsciously into such a practice, it is certainly very

imlady-like, and in very bad taste, to scold / and the fur-

ther a woman departs from all approach to it, the more per-

fectly she sustains her character as a lady.

Another method of securing equanimity, amid the trials

of domestic life is, to cultivate a habit of making allowances

for the difficulties, ignorance, or temptations of those whoviolate rule or neglect duty. It is vain, and most imreason-

able, to expect the consideration and care of a mature mind

in childhood and youth ; or that persons of such limited ad-

vantages as most domestics have enjoyed should practice

proper self-control and possess proper habits and princi-

ples.

Every parent and every employer needs daily to culti-

vate the spirit expressed in the divine prayer, " Forgive us

our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us."

The same allowances and forbearance which we supplicate

from our Heavenly Father, and desire from our fellow-men

in reference to our own deficiencies, we should constantly

aim to extend to all who cross our feelings and interfere

•B-ith our plans.

The last and most important mode of securing a placid

and cheerful temper and tones is, by a constant belief in

the influence of a superintending Providence. All persona


are too mucli in the habit of regarding the more important

events of life exclusively as under the control of Perfect

Wisdom. But the fall of a sparrow, or the loss of a hair,

they do not feel to be equally the result of his directing

agency. In consequence of this, Christian persons who aim

at perfect and cheerful submission to heavy afflictions, and

who succeed to the edificMion of all about them, are

sometimes sadly deficient under petty crosses. If,a beloved

child be laid in the grave, even if its death resulted from the

carelessness of a domestic or of a physician, the eye is turned

from the subordinate agent to the Supreme Guardian of all

;

and to him they bow, without murmur or complaint. But

if a pudding be burnt, or a room badly swept, or an errand

forgotten, then vexation and complaint are allowed, just as

if these events were not appointed by Perfect Wisdom as

much as the sorer chastisement.

A woman, therefore, needs to cultivate the habitual feel-

ing that all the events of her nursery and kitchen are

brought about by the permission of our Heavenly Father,

and that fretfulness or complaint in regard to these is, in

fact, complaining at the appointments of God, and is really

as sinful as unsubmissive murmurs amid the sorer chastise-

ments of his hand. And a woman who cultivates this

habit of referring all the minor trials of life to the wise and

benevolent agency of a heavenly Parent, and daily seeks.^

his sympathy and aid to enable her to meet them with a

quiet and cheerful spirit, will soon find it the perennial

spring of abiding peace and content.

The power of religion to impart dignity and importance to

the ordinary and seemingly petty details of domestic life,

greatly depends upon the degree of faith in the reality of a

life to come, and of its eternal results. A woman who is

training a family simply with reference to this life mayfind exalted motives as she looks forward to unborn genera-

tions whose temporal prosperity and happiness are depend-

ing upon her fidelity and skill. But one wh ) truly and

GOOD TEMPER IN TBE BOtJSEKEEFER. 219

firmly believes that this life is but the beginning of an eter-

nal career to every immortal inmate of her home, and that

the formation of tastes, habits, and character, imder her

care, will bring forth fruits of good or ill, not only through

earthly generations, but through everlasting ages ; such a

woman secures a calm and exalted principle of action,

which no earthly motives can impart.

HABITS OF SYSTEM AITO OEDEE

AuT discussion of the equality of tlie sexes, as to inteUeo-

tual capacity, seems frivolous and useless, both because it

can never be decided, and because there would be no pos-

sible advantage in the decision. But one topic, which is

often drawn into this discussion, is of far more consequence

;

and that is, the relative importance and difficulty of the

duties a woman is called to perform.

It is generally assumed, and almost as generally conceded,

that a housekeeper's business and cares are contracted and

trivial ; and that the proper discharge of her duties de-

mands far less expansion of mind and vigor of intellect

than the pursuits of the other sex. This idea has prevailed

because women, as a mass, have never been educated with

reference to their most important duties ; while that por-

tion of their employments which is of least value has been

regarded as the chief, if not the sole, concern of a woman.

The covering of the body, the convenience of residences,

and the gratification of the appetite, have been too muchregarded as the chief objects on which her intellectual

powers are to be exercised.

But as society gradually shakes off the remnants of bar-

barism and the intellectual and moral interests of man rise,

in estimation, above the merely sensual, a truer estimate is -

formed of woman's duties, and of the measure of intellect

requisite for the proper discharge of them. Let any manof sense and discernment become the member of a large

HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER. 221

household, in whicli a well-educated and pious woman is en-

deavoring systematically to discharge her multiform duties

;

let him fully comprehend all her cares, difficulties, and per-

plexities ; and it is probable he would coincide in the opin-

ion that no statesman, at the head of a nation's affairs, hadmore frequent calls for wisdom, firmness, tact, discrimina-

tion, prudence, and versatility of talent, than such a woman.She has a husband, to whose peculiar tastes and habits

she must accommodate herself; she has children whose

health she must guard, whose physical constitutions she must

fitudy and develop, whose temper and habits she must

regulate, whose principles she must form, whose pursuits

she must guide. She has constantly changing domestics,

with all varieties of temper and habits, whom she must

govern, instruct, and direct ; she is required to regulate the

finances of the domestic state, and constantly to adapt ex-

penditures to the means and to the relative claims of each

department. She has the direction of the kitchen, where

ignorance, forgetfulness, and awkwardness are to be so re-

gulated that the various operations shall each start at the

right time, and all be incompleteness at the same given

hour. She has the claims of society to meet, visits to receive

and return, and the duties of hospitality to sustain. She

has the poor to relieve ; benevolent societies to aid ; the

schools of her children-to inquire and decide about ; the care

of the sick and the aged ; the nursing of infancy ;. and the

endless miscellany of odd items, constantly recurring in a

large family.

Surely, it is a pernicious and mistaken idea, that the

duties which tax a woman's mind are petty, trivial, or un-

worthy of the highest grade of intellect and moral worth.

Instead of allowing this feeling, every woman should im-

bibe, from early youth, the impression that she is in train-

ing for the discharge of the most important, the most dif-

ficult, and the most sacred and interesting duties that can

possibly employ the highest intellect. She ought to feel


that hor station and responsibilities in the great drama of

life are second to none, either as viewed by her Maker, or

in the estimation of all minds whose judgment is most

worthy of respect.

She who is the mother and housekeeper in a large family

is the sovereign of an empire, demanding more varied

cares, and involving more difficult duties, than are really

exacted of her who wears a crown and professedly regu-

hxtes the interests of the greatest nation on earth.

There is no one thing more necessary to a housekeeper

in performing her varied duties, than a habit of system

and order ; and yet, the peculiarly desultory nature of

women's pursuits, and the embarrassments resulting from

the state of domestic service in this country, render it very

difficult to form such a habit. But it is sometimes the

case that women who could and would carry forward a

systematic plan of domestic economy do not attempt it,

simply from a want of knowledge of the various modes of

introducing it. It is with reference to such, that various

modes of securing system and order, which the writer has

seen adopted, will be pointed out.

A wise economy is nowhere more conspicuous, than in

a systematic a/pporUonment of time to different pursuits.

There are duties of a religious, intellectual, social, and do-

mestic nature, each having different relative claims on at-

tention.. Unless a person has some general plan of appor-

tioning these claims, some will intrench on others, and

some, it is probable, will be entirely excluded. Thus, some

find religious, social, and domestic duties so numerous, that

no time is given to intellectual improvement. Others find

either social, or benevolent, or religious interests excluded

by the extent and variety of other engagements.

It is wise, therefore, for all persons to devise a systematic

plan, which they will at least keep in view, and aim to

accomplish ; and by which a proper proportion of time

shall be secured for all the duties of life.


In forming such a plan, every woman must accommo-date herself to the peculiarities of her situation. If she

has a large family and a small income, she must devote far

more time to the simple duty of providing food and rai-

ment than would be right were she in affluence, and with-

a small family. It is impossible, therefore, to draw out

any general plan, which all can adopt. But there are

some general princvples, wliich ought to be the guiding

rules, when a woman arranges her domestic employments.

These principles are to be based on Christianity, whichteaches us to " seek first the kingdom of God," and to

deem food, raiment, and the conveniences of life, as of

secondary accoimt. Every woman, then, ought to start

with the assumption, that the moral and religious interests

of her family are of more consequence than any worldly

concern, and that, whatever else may be sacrificed, these

shall be the leading object, in all her arrangements, in re-

spect to time, money, and attention.

It is also one of the plainest requisitions of Christianity,

that we devote some of our time and efforts to the com-

fort and improvement of others. There is no duty so con-

stantly enforced, both in the Old and New Testament, as

that of charity, in dispensing to those who are desti-

tute of the blessings we enjoy. In selecting objects of

charity, the same rule applies to others as to our-

selves; their moral and religious interests are of the

highest moment, and for them, as well as for ourselves,

we are to " seek first the kingdom of God."

Another general principle is, that our inteUectual and

social interests are to be preferred to the mere gratifica-

tion of taste or appetite. A portion of time, therefore,

must be devoted to the cultivation of the intellect and the

social affections.

Another is, that the mere gratification of appetite is

tb be placed last in our estimate ; so that, when a question

arises as to which shall be sacrificed, some intellectual,


moral, or social advantage, or some gratification of sense,

we should invariably sacrifice the last.

As health is indispensable to the discharge of every

duty, nothing which sacrifices that blessing is to be al-

lowed in order to gain any other advantage or enjoyment.

There are emergencies, when it is right to risk health and

life, to save ourselves and others from greater evils ; but

these are exceptions, which do not militate against the

general rule. Many persons imagine that, if they violate

the laws of health, in order to attend to religious or do-

mestic duties, they are guiltless before God. But such

greatly mistake. We directly violate the law, "Thou

shalt not kill," when we do what tends to risk or shorten

our own life. The life and happiness of all his creatures

are dear to our Creator ; and he is as much displeased

when we injure our own interests, as when we injure

those of others. The idea, therefore, that we are excusa-

ble if we harm no one but ourselves, is false and perni-

cious. These, then, are some general principles, to guide

a woman in systematizing her duties and pursuits.

The Creator of all things is a Being of perfect system

and order ; and, to aid us in our duty in this respect, he

has divided our time, by a regularly returning day of rest

from worldly business. In following this example, the in-

tervening six daysmaybe subdivided to secure similar bene-

fits. In doing this, a certain portion of time must be given

to procure the means of livelihood, and for preparing food,

raiment, and dwellings. To these objects, spme must de-

vote more, and others less, attention. The remainder of

time not necessarily thus employed, might be divided

somewhat in this manner : The leisure of two afternoons

and evenings could be devoted to religious and benevolent

objects, such as religious meetings, charitable associations,

school visiting, and attention to the sick and poor. The

leisure of two other days might be devoted to intellectual

improvement, and the pursuits of taste The leisure of


another day inight be devoted to social enjoyments, ii

making or receiving visits ; and that of another, to miscellaneous domestic pursuits, not included in the othei

particulars.

It is probable that few persons could carry out such ai

arrangement very strictly ; but every one can make a sys

tematic apportionment of time, and at least avm at accomplishing it ; and they can also compare with such a gen

eral outline, the time which they actually devote to these

different objects, for the purpose of modifying any mis-

taken proportions.

Without attempting any such systematic employment

of time, and carrying it out, so far as they can control cir-

cumstances, most women are rather driven along by the

daily occurrences of life ; so that, instead of being the in-

telligent regulators of their own time, they are the mere

sport of circumstances. There is nothing which so dis-

tinctly marks the difference between weak and strong

minds as the question, whether they control circumstan-

ces or circumstances control them.

It is very much to be feared, that the apportionment of

time, actually made by most women exactly inverts the

order required by reason and Christianity. Thus, the

furnishing a needless variety of food, the conveniences of

dwellings, and the adornments of dress, often take a larger

portion of time than is given to any other object. IText

after this, comes intellectual improvement ; and, last of all,

benevolence and religion.

It may be urged, that it is indispensable for most per-

sons to give more time to earn a livelihood, and to prepare

food, raiment, and dwellings, than to any other object.

But it may be asked, how much of the time, devoted to

these objects, is employed in preparing varieties of food

not necessary, but rather injurious, and how much is spent

for those parts of dress and furniture not indispensable, and

merely ornamental ? Let a woman subtract from her do


mestic employments all the time given to pursuits which

are of no use, except as they gratify a taste for ornament,

or minister increased varieties to tempt the appetite, and

she will find that much which she calls " domestic duty,"

and which prevents her attention to intellectual, benevo-

lent, and religious objects, should be called by a very differ-

ent name.

No woman has a right to give up attention to the higher

interests of herself and others, for the ornaments of person or

the gratification of the palate. To a certain extent, these

lower objects are lawful and desirable ; but when they in-

trude on nobler interests, they become selfish and degrad-

ing. Every woman, then, when employing her hands in

ornamenting her person, her children, or her house, ought

to calculate whether she has devoted as much time to the

really more important wants of herself and others. If

she has not, she may know that she is doing wrong, and

that her system for apportioning her time and pursuits

should be ajtered.

Some persons endeavor to systematize their pursuits byapportioning them to particular hours of each day. For

example, a certain period before breakfast, is given to de-

votional duties ; after-breakfast, certain hours are devoted

to exercise and domestic employments; other hours, to

sewing, or reading, or visiting ; and others, to benevolent

duties. But in most cases, it is more diflScult to system-

atize the hours of each day, than it is to secure some reg-

ular division of the week.

In regard to the minutiae of family work, the writer has

known the following methods to be adopted. Monday,with some of the best housekeepers, is devoted to prepar-

ing for the labors of the week. Any extra cooking, the

purchasing of articles to be used during the week, the as-

sorting of clothes for the wash, and mending such as wouldotherwise be injured—these, and similar items, belong to

this day. Tuesday is devoted to washing, and Wednesday

BABIT8 OF SYSTEM AND ORDER. 227

to ironing. On Thursday, the ironing is finished off, the

clothes are folded and put away, and all articles which

need mending are put in the mending-basket, and attended

to. Friday is devoted to sweeping and house-cleaning.

On Saturday, and especially the last Saturday of every

month, every department is put in order ; the casters and

table furniture are regulated, the pantry and cellar in-

spected, the trunks, drawers, and closets arranged, and

every thing about the house put in order for Sunday. Bythis regular recurrence of a particular time for inspecting

every thing, nothing is forgotten till ruined by neglect.

Another mode of systematiziug relates to providing

proper supplies of conveniences, and proper places in

which to keep them. Thus, some ladies keep a large closet,

in which are placed the tubs, pails, dippers, soap-dishes,

starch, blueing, clothes-lines, clothes-pins, and every other

article used in washing ; and in the same, or another

place, is kept every convenience for ironing. In the

sewing department, a trunk, with suitable partitions, is

provided, in which are placed, each in its proper place,

white thread of all sizes, colored thread, yarns for mend-

ing, colored and black sewing-silks and twist, tapes and

bobbins of all sizes, white and colored welting-cords, silk

braids and cords, needles of all sizes, papers of pins, rem-

nants of linen and colored cambric, a supply of all kinds

of buttons used in the family, black and white hooks and

eyes, a yard measure, and all the patterns used in cutting

and fitting. These are done up in separate parcels, and

labeled. In another trunk, or in a piece-bag, such as has

been previously described, are kept all pieces used in mend-

ing, arranged in order. A trunk, like the first mentioned,

will save many steps, and often much time and perplexity

;

while by purchasing articles thus by the quantity, they come

much cheaper than if bought in little portions as they are

wanted. Such a trunk should be kept locked, and a

smaller supply for current use retained in a work-basket.


A full supply of all conveniences in the kitclien and eel

lar, and a place appointed for each article, very much fa-

cilitate domestic labor. For want of this, much vexation

and loss of time is occasioned while seeking vessels in use,

or in cleansing those employed by different persons for

various purposes. It would be far better for a lady to give

up some expensive article in the parlor, and apply the mo-

ney thus saved for kitchen conveniences, than to have a

stinted supply where the most labor is to be performed.

If our countrywomen would devote more to comfort and

convenience, and less to show, it would be a great improve-

ment. Expensive mirrors and pier-tables in the parlor, and

an unpainted, gloomy, ill-furnished kitchen, not unfrequent-

ly are found under the same roof.

Another important item in systematic economy is, the ap-

portioning of regular employment to the various members

of a family. If a housekeeper can secure the cooperation

of all her family, she will find that " many hands makelight work." There is no greater mistake than in bring-

ing up childi'en to feel that they must be taken care of,

and waited on by others, without any corresponding obli-

gations on their part. The extent to which young chil-

dren can be made useful in a family would seem surpris-

ing to those who have never seen a systematic and regular

plan for utilizing their services. The writer has been in a

family where a little girl, of eight or nine years of age,

washed and dressed herself and young brother, and madetheir small beds, before breakfast ; set and cleared all the

tables for meals, with a little help from a grown person in

moving tables and spreading cloths ; while all the dusting

of parlors and chambers was also neatly performed by her.

A brother of ten years old brought in and piled all the

wood used in the kitchen and parlor, brushed the boots

and shoes, went on errands, and took all the care of the

poultry. They were children whose parents could afford

to hire servants to do this, but who chose to have tbcir

HABITS OF STiSTEM 4ND ORDER. 229

children grow up healthy and industrious, while proper in-

struction, system, and encouragement made these services

rather a pleasure than otherwise, to the childi-en.

Some parents pay their children for such services ; hut

this is hazardous, as tending to make them feel that they

are not bound to be helpful without pay, and also as tend-

ing to produce a hoarding, money-making spirit. Butwhere children have no hoarding propensities, and need to ac-

quire a sense of the vp^lue of property, it may be well to let

them earn money for some extra services rather as a favor.

When this is done, they should be taught to spend it for

others, as well as for themselves ; and in this way, a gen-

erous and liberal spirit will be cultivated.

There are some mothers who take pains to teach their

boys most of the domestic arts which their sisters learn. Thewriter has seen boys mending their own garments and

aiding their mother or sisters in the kitchen, with great skill

and adroitness ; and, at an early age, they usually very muchrelish joining in such occupations. The sons ofsuch mothers,

in their college life, or in roaming about the world, or in

nursing a sick wife or infant, find occasion to bless the fore-

thought and kindness which prepared them for such emergen-

cies. Few things are in worse taste than for a man needless-

ly to busy himself in women's work ; and yet a man never

appears in a more interesting attitude than when, by skill

in such matters, he can save a mother or wife fi'om care

and suffering. The more a boy is taught to use his hands,

in every variety of domestic employment, the more his facul-

ties, both of mind and body, are developed ; for mechanical

pursuits exercise the intellect as well as the hands. The

early training of New-England boys, in which they turn

their hand to almost every thing, is one great reason of the

quick perceptions, versatility ofmind, and mechanical skill,

for which that portion of our countrymen is distinguished.

It is equally important that young girls should be taught

to do son-xC species of handicraft that generally is done by

230 THE EOVSBKEEPER'S MANUAL.

men, and especially witli reference to the frequent emi-

gration to new territories where well-trained mechanics are

scarce. To hang wall-paper, repair locks, glaze windows,

and mend various household articles, requires a skill in tlie

use of tools which every young girl should acquire. If she

never has any occasion to apply this knowledge and skill

by her own hands, she will often find it needful ia direct-

ing and superintending incompetent workmen.

The writer has known one mode of systematizing the aid

of the older children in a family, which, in some cases of

very large families, it may be well to imitate. In the case

referred to, when the oldest daughter was eight or nine

years old, an infant sister was given to her, as her special

charge. She tended it, made and mended its clothes, taught

it to read, and was its nurse and guardian, through all its

childhood. Another infant was given to the next daugh-

ter, and thus the children were all paired in this interest-

ing relation. In addition to the relief thus afforded to the

mother, the elder children were in this way qualified for

their future domestic relations, and both older and younger

bound to each other by peculiar ties of tenderness and grati-

tude.

In offering these examples of various modes of systema-

tizing, one suggestion may be worthy of attention. It is

not unfrequently the case, that ladies, who find themselves

cumbered with oppressive cares, after reading remarks on

the benefits of system, immediately commence the task of

arranging their pursuits, with great vigor and hope. Theydivide the day into regular periods, and give each hour its

dn ty ; they systematize their work, and endeavor to bring

every thing into a regular routine. But, in a short time,

they find themselves bafiled, discouraged, and disheartened,

and finally relapse into their former desultory ways, in a

sort of resigned despair.

The difficulty, in such cases, is, that they attempt too

much at a time. There is nothing which so much depends


apou habit, as a systematic mode of performing duty ; andwliere no such habit has been formed, it is impossible for anovice to start, at once, into a universal mode of system-atizing, which none but an adept could carry through.The only way for such persons is to begin with a little

at a time. Let them select some three or four things,

and resolutely attempt to conquer at these points. Intime, a habit wHl be formed, of doing a few things at re-

gular periods, and in a systematic way. Then it will beeasy to add a few more ; and thus, by a gradual process,

the object can be secured, which it w.ould be vain to at-

tempt by a more summary course.

Early rising is almost an indispensable condition to suc-

cess, in such an effort ; but where a woman lacks either the

health or the energy to secure a period for devotional du-

ties before breakfast, let her select that hour of the day in

which she wiU be least liable to interruption, and let her then

seek strength and wisdom from the only true Source. Atthis time, let her take a pen, and make a list of all the

things which she considers as duties. Then, let a calcula-

tion be made, whether there be time enough, in the day or

the week, for all these duties. If there be not, let the least

important be stricken from the list, as not being duties, and

therefore to be omitted. In doing this, let a woman remem-

ber that, though " what we shall eat, and what we shall

drink, and wherewithal we shall be clothed," are matters

requiring due attention, they are very apt to obtain a

wrong relative importance, while intellectual, social, and

moral interests receive too little regard.

In this country, eating, dressing, and household furni-

ture and ornaments, take far too large a place in the esti-

mate of relative importance ; and it is probable that most

women could modify their views and practice, so as to come

nearer to the Saviour's requirements. No woman has a

right to put a stitch of ornament on any article of dress or

furniture, or to provide one superfluity in food, until she


is sm-e she can secure time for all hef social, intellectual,

benevolent, and religious duties. K a woman will take the

trouble to make such a calculation as this, she will usually

find that she has time enough to perform aU her duties

easily and weU.

It is impossible for a conscientious woman to secure that

peaceful mind and cheerful enjoyment of life which all

should seek, who is constantly finding her duties jarring

with each other, and much remaining undone, which she

feels that she ought to do. In consequence of this, there

wiU be a secret uneasiness, which will throw a shade over

the whole current of life, never to be removed, till she so

efficiently defines and regulates her duties that she can

fulfiU them all.

And here the writer would urge upon young ladies the

importance of forming habits of .system, while unembar-

rassed with those multiplied cares which will make the

task so much more difficult and hopeless. Every young

lady can systematize her pursuits, to a certain extent. She

can have a particular day for mending her wardrobe, and

for arranging her trunks, closets, and drawers. She can

keep her work-basket, her desk at school, and all her other

conveniences, in their proper places, and in regular order.

She can have regular periods for reading, walking, visiting,

study, and domestic pursuits. And by following this

method in youth, she will form a taste for regularity and a

habit of system, which will prove a blessing to her through

life.

xvin.

GIVING IN CHAEITT.

It is probable that there is no point of duty whereon

conscientions persons differ more in opinion, or where they

find it more difficvdt to form discriminating and decided

views, than on the matter of charity. That we are bound

to give some of our time, money, and efforts, to relieve the

destitute, all allow. But, as to how much we are to give,

and on whom our charities shall be bestowed, many a re-

flecting mind has been at a loss. Yet it seems very desir-

able that, in reference to a duty so constantly and so stren-

uously urged by the Supreme Kuler, we should be able so

to fix metes and bounds, as to keep a conscience void of

offense, and to free the mind from disquieting fears of de-

ficiency.

The writer has found no other topic of investigation so

beset with difficulty, and so absolutely without the range of

definite rules which can apply to all, in all circumstances.

But on this, as on previous topics, there seem to be general

'principles, by the aid of which any candid mind, sincerely

desirous of obeying the commands of Christ, however much

self-denial may be involved, can arrive at definite conclu-

sions as to its own individual obligations : so that when

these are fulfilled, the mind may be at peace.

But for a mind that is worldly, living mainly to seek its

own pleasures instead of living to please God, no principles

can be so fixed as not to leave a ready escape from all obli-

gation. Such minds, either by indolence (and consequent

ignorance) or by sophistry, will convince themselves that a


life of engrossing self-indulgence, with perhaps the gift of

a few dollars and a few hours of time, may suflSce to fulfill

the requisitions of the Eternal Judge.

For such minds, no reasonings will avail, till the heart is

so changed that to learn the will and follow the example

of Jesus Christ become the leading objects of interest and

effort. It is to aid those who profess to possess this temper

of mind that the following suggestions are offered.

The first consideration which gives definiteness to this

subject is a correct view of the object for which we are

placed in this world. A great many, even of professed Chris-

tians, seem to be acting on the supposition that the object

of life is to secure as much as possible of all the various en-

joyments placed within reach. Not so teaches reason or

revelation. From these we learn that, though the happi-

ness of his creatures is the end for which God created and

sustains them, yet this happiness depends not on the vari-

ous modes of gratification put within our reach, but mainly

on character. A man may possess all the resources for en-

joyment which this world can afford, and yet feel that " all

is vanity and vexation of spirit," and that he is supremely

wretched. Another may be in want of all things, and yet

possess that living spring of benevolence, faith, and hope,

which will make an Eden of the darkest prison.

In order to be perfectly happy, man must attain that

character which Christ exhibited ; and the nearer he ap-

proaches it, the more will happiness reign in his breast.

But what was the grand peculiarity of the character of

Christ ? It was self-denying ienevolenoe. He came not to

" seek his ovm ;" He " went about doing good," and this

was his " meat and drink ;" that is, it was this which sus-

tained the health and life of his mind, as food and drink

sustain the health and life of the body. Now, the mind oi

man is so made that it can gradually be transformed into

the same likeness. A selfish being, who, for a whole life,

has been nourishing habits of indolent self-indulgence, can

GIVING IN CHABITT. 235

by taking Christ as his example, by commtmion with him,and by daily striving to imitate his character and conduct,form such a temper of mind that " doing good " will be-

come the chief and highest source of enjoyment. And this

heavenly principle will grow stronger and stronger, nntil

self-denial loses the more painful part of its character ; andthen, living to mahe happiness will be so delightful andabsorbing a pursuit, that all exertions, regarded as themeans to this end, will be like the joyous efforts of menwhen they strive for a prize or a crown, with the full hopeof success.

In this view of the subject, efforts and seli-denial for the

good of others are to be regarded not merely as duties en-

joined for the benefit of others, hut as the moral training

indispensable to the formation of that character on whichdepends our own happiness. This view exhibits the full

meaning of the Saviour's declaration, " How hardly shall

they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God !"

He had before taught that the kingdom of heaven consist-

ed not in such enjoyments as the worldly seek, but in

the temper of self-denying benevolence, like his own ; and

as the rich have far greater temptations to indolent self-in-

dulgence, they are far less likely to acquire this temper than

those who, by limited means, are inured to some degree of

self-denial.

But on this point, one important distinction needs to be

made ; and that is, between the self-denial which has no

other aim than mere self-mortification, and that which is

exercised to secure greater good to ourselves and others.

The first is the foundation of monasticism, penances, and

all other forms of asceticism ; the latter, only, is that which

Christianity requires.

A second consideration, which may give definiteness to

this subject, is, that the formation of a perfect character in-

volves, not the extermination of any principles of our na-

ture, but rather the regulating of them, according to the


ni]es of reason and religion ; so that the lower propensities

shall always he kept suhordinate to nohler principles. Thus

we are not to aim at destroying our appetites, or at need-

lessly denying them, but rather so to regulate them that

they shall best secure the objects for which they were im-

planted. "We are not to annihilate the love of praise and

admiration ; but so to control it that the favor of God shall

be regarded more than the estimation of men. We are not

to extirpate the principle of curiosity, which leads us to

acquire knowledge ; but so to direct it, that all our acqui-

sitions shall be usefiil and not frivolous or injurious. Andthus with all the principles of the mind : God has implant-

ed no desires in our constitution which are evil and per-

nicious. On the contrary, all our constitutional propensi-

ties, either of mind or body, he designed we should grat-

ify, whenever no evils would thence result, either to our-

selves or others. Such passions as envy, selfish ambition,

contemptuous pride, revenge, and hatred, are to be exter-

minated ; for they are either excesses or excrescences, not

created by God, but rather the result of our own neglect

to form habits of benevolence and self-control.

In deciding the rules of our conduct, therefore, we are

ever to bear in mind that the development of the nobler

principles, and the subjugation of inferior propensities to

them, is to be the main object of effort both for ourselves

and for others. And in conformity with this, in all our

plans we are to place religious and moral interests as first

in estimation, our social and intellectual interests next, and

our physical gratifications as subordinate to all.

A third consideration is that, though the means for sus

taining life and health are to be regarded as necessaries,

without which no other duties can be performed, yet a very

large portion of the time spent by most persons in easy

circumstances for food, raiment, and dwellings, is for

mere superfluities ; which are right when they do not in-

volve the sacrifice of highe" interests, and wrong when

GIVING IN CHABITT. 237

they do. Life and health can be sustained in the humblestdwellings, with the plainest dress, and the simplest food

;

and, after taking from our means what is necessary for life

and health, the remainder is to be so divided, that the

larger portion shall be given to supply the moral and in-

tellectual wants of ourselves and others, together with the

physical requirements of the destitute, and the smaller

share to procure those additional gratifications of taste

and appetite which are desirable but not indispensable.

Mankind, thus far, have never made this apportionment

of their means ; although, just as fast as they have risen

from a savage state, mere physical wants have been made,

to an increasing extent, subordinate to higher objects.

Another very important consideration is that, in urging

the duty of charity and the prior claims of moâl and re-

ligious objects, no rule of duty should be maintained

which it would not be right and wise for all to follow.

And we are to test the wisdom of any general rule by in-

quiring what Wôuld be the result if all mankind should

practice according to it. In view of this, we are enabled

to judge of the correctness of those who maintain that, to

be consistent, men believing in the perils of all those of our

race who are not brought under the influence of the Chris-

tian system should give up not merely the elegancies

but all the superfluities of life, and devote the whole of

their means not indispensable to life and health to the

propagation of Christianity.

But if this is the duty of any, it is the duty of all ; and

we are to inquire what would be the result, if all con-

scientious persons gave up the use of all superfluities.

Suppose that two millions of the people of the United

States were conscientious persons, and relinquished the U6e

of every thing not absolutely necessary to life and health.

Besides reducing the education of the people 'in all the

higher walks of intellectual, social, and even moral deve-

lopment, to very narrow limits, it would instantly throw


out of employment one lialf of tlie whole communitj'. The

writers, book-makers, manufacturers, mechanics, merchants,

agriculturists, and all the agencies they employ, would be

beggared, and one half of those not reduced to poverty

would be obliged to spend all their extra means in simply

supplying necessaries to the other half. The use of super-

fluities, therefore, to a certain extent, is as indispensable

to promote industry, virtue, and religion, as any direct

giving of money or time ; and it is owing entirely to a

want of reflection and of comprehensive views, that any

me:, ever make so great a mistake as is here exhibited.

Instead, then, of urging a rule of duty which is at once

irrational and impracticable, there is another course, which

commends itself to the understandings of all. For what-

ever may be the practice of intelligent men, they univer-

sally concede the principle, that our physical gratifications

should always be made subordinate to social, intellectual,

and moral advantages. And all that is required for the

advancement of our whole race to the most perfect state

of society is, simply, that men should act in agreement

with this principle. And if only a very small portion of

the most intelligent of our race should act according to

this rule, under the control of Christian benevolence, the

immense supplies furnished for the general good would be

far beyond what any would imagine who had never made

,

any calculations on the subject. In this nation alone,

suppose the one million and more of professed followers

of Christ should give a larger portion of their means for

the social, intellectual, and moral wants of mankind,

than for the superfluities that minister to their own taste,

convenience, and appetite ; it would be enough to furnish

all the schools, colleges, Bibles, ministers, and missionaries,

that the whole world could demand ; or, at least, it wouldbe far more than properly qualified agents to administer

it coîld employ.

Eut it may be objected that, though this view in the

OIVUfG IN CSARITT. 23'9

abstract looks plausible and rational, not one in a thousandcan practically adopt it. How few keep any account, at

all, of their current expenses! How impossible it is to de-

teiinine, exactly, what are necessaries and what are super-

fluities ! And in regard to women, how few have the con-

trol of an income, so as not to be bound by the wishes of

a parent or a husband !

In reference to these difficulties, the first remark is, that

we are never under obligations to do what is entirely out

of our power ; so that those persons who can not regu-

late their expenses or their charities are under no sort of

obligation to attempt it. The second remark is that, whena rule of duty is discovered, if we can not fully attain to it,

we are bound to aim at it, and to fulfill it just so far as wecan. "We have no right to throw it aside because we shall

find some difficult cases when we come to apply it. Thethird 'remark is, that no person can tell how much can be

done, till a faithful trial has been made. If a woman has

never kept any accounts, nor attempted to regulate her

expenditures by the right rule, nor used her infiuence with

those that control her plans, to secure this object, she has

no right to say how much she can or can not do, till after

a fair trial has been made.

In attempting such a trial, the following method can be

taken. Let a woman keep an account of all she spends, for

herself and her family, for a year, arranging the items un-

der three general heads. Under the first, put all articles

of food, raiment, rent, wages, and all conveniences. Under

the second, place all sums paid in securing an education,

and books, and other intellectual advantages. Undei the

third . head, place all that is spent for benevolence and re-

ligion. At the end of the year, the first and largest ac-

count will show the mixed items of necessaries and super-

fluities, which can be arranged so as to gain some sort of

idea how much has been spent for superfluities and how

much for necessaries. Then, by comparing what is spent

240 TEE EOUSEKSEPEE'S MANUAL.

for superfluities, with what is spent for intellectual and

moral advantages, data will be gained for judging of the

past and regulating the future.

Does a woman say she can not do this ? let her think,

whether the offer of a thousand dollars, as a reward for at-

tempting it one year, would not make her undertake to do

it ; and if so, let her decide, in her own mind, which is

most valuable, a clear conscience, and the approbation of

God, in this effort to do his will, or one thousand dollars.

And let her do it, with this warning of the Saviour before

her eyes—" No man can serve two masters." " Te can

not serve God and Mammon."Is it objected, How can we decide between superfluities

and necessities, in this list ? It is replied, that we are not

required to judge exactly, in all cases. Our duty is, to use

the means in our power to assist us in forming a correct

judgment ; to seek the divine aid in freeing our minds

from indolence and selfishness ; and then to judge, as well

as we can, in our endeavors rightly to apportion and regu-

late our expenses. Many persons seem to feel that they

are bound to do better than they know how. But God is

not so hard a master ; and after we have used all proper

means to learn the right way, if we then follow it accord-

ing to our ability, we do wrong to feel misgivings, or to

blame ourselves, if results come out differently from what,

seems desirable.

The results of our actions, alone, can never prove us de-

serving of blame. For men are often so placed that, owing

to lack of intellect or means, it is impossible for them to

decide correctly. To use all the means of knowledge with-

in our reach, and then to judge, with a candid and con-

scientious spirit, is all that God requires ; and when wehave done this, and the event seems to ' come out wrong,

we should never wish that we had decided otherwise. For

this would be the same as wishing that we had not fol-

lowed the dictates of judgment and conscience. As this

0IVme JJV CHABITT. a4i

is a world douigned for discipline and trial, untowardevents are never to be construed as indications of the obli-

quity of our past decisions.

But it is probable that a great portion of the women of

this nation can not secure any such systematic mode of re-

gulating their expenses. To such, the writer would pro-

pose one inquiry : Can not you calculate how much time

and money you spend for what is merely ornamental, andnot necessary, for yourself, your children, and your house ?

Can not you compare this with the time and money youspend for intellectual and benevolent purposes ? and will

not this show the need of some change ? In making this

examination, is not this brief rule, deducible from the

principles before laid down, the one which should regulate

you ? Every person does right in spending some portion

of time and means in securing the conveniences and adorn-

ments of taste ; but the amount should never exceed what

is spent in securing our own moral and intellectual im-

provement, nor what is spent in benevolent efforts to sup-

ply the physical and moral wants of our fellow-men.

In mating an examination on this subject, it is some-

times the case that a woman will count among the neces-

sa/ries of life all the various modes of adorning the person

or house, practiced in the circle in which she moves ; and,

after enumerating the many duties which demand atten-

tion, counting these as a part, she will come to the conclu-

sion that she has no time, and but little money, to devote

to personal improvement or to benevolent enterprises.

This surely is not in agreement with the requirements of

the Saviour, who calls on us to seek for others, as well as

ourselves, ji/rst of all, " the kingdom of God, and his right-

eousness."

In order to act in accordance with the rule here pre-

sented, it is true that many would be obliged to give up

the idea of conforming to the notions and customs of those

with whom they associate, and compelled to adopt the


maxim, " Be not conformed to this world." In many cases,

it would involve an entire change in the style of living.

And the writer has the happiness of knowing more cases

than one, where persons who have come to similar views

on this subject, have given up large and expensive estab-

lishments, disposed of their carriages, dismissed a portion

of their domestics, and modified all their expenditures,

that they might keep a pure conscience, and regulate their

charities more according to the requirements of Christian-

ity. And there are persons, well known in the religious

world, who save themselves all labor of minute calculation,

by devoting so large a portion of their time and means to

benevolent objects, that they find no difficulty in knowing

that they give more for religious, benevolent, and intellec-

tual purposes than for superfluities.

In deciding what particular objects shall receive our

benefactions, there are also general principles to guide us.

The first is that presented by our Saviour, when, after

urging the great law of benevolence, he was asked, " Andwho is my neighbor ?" His reply, in the parable of " the

Good Samaritan," teaches us that any human being whose

wants are brought to our knowledge is our neighbor. The

wounded man in that parable was not only a stranger, but

he belonged to a foreign nation, peculiarly hated ; and he

had no claim, except that his wants were brought to the

knowledge of the wayfaring man. From this we learn

that the destitute of all nations become our neighbors, p.a

soon as their wants are brought to our knowledge.

Another general principle is this, that those who are most

in need must be relieved in preference to those who are

less destitute. On this principle it is, that we think the

followers of Christ should give more to supply those whoare suffering for want of the bread of eternal life, than for

those who are deprived of physical enjoyments. And an-

other reason for this preference is the fact that many whogive in charity have made such imperfect advances in civil-

GIVING m CKAHITT. 243

ization and Christianity that the intellectual and moral

wants of our race make but a feeble impression on the mind.

Relate a pitiful tale of a family reduced to live for weeks

on potatoes only, and many a mind would awake to deep

sympathy and stretch forth the hand of charity. But de-

scribe cases where the immortal mind is pining in stupidity

and ignorance, or racked with the fever of baleful passions,

and how small the number so elevated in sentiment and

60 enlarged in their views as to appreciate and sympathize

in these far greater misfortunes ! The intellectual and

moral wants of our fellow-men, therefore, should claim the

first place in general Christian attention, both because they

are most important, and because they are most neglected

;

while it should not be forgotten, in giving personal atten-

tion to -the wants of the poor, that the relief of immediate

physical distress, is often the easiest way of touching the

moral sensibilities of the destitute.

Another consideration to be borne in mind is that, in

this country, there is much less real need of charity in

supplying physical necessities than is generally supposed

by those who have not learned the more excellent way.

This land is so abundant in supplies, and labor is in such

demand, that every healthy person can earn a comfortable

support.- And if all the poor were instantly made virtuous,

it 'is probable that there would be few physical wants

which could not readily be supplied by the immediate

friends of each sufferer. The sick, the aged, and the orphan

would be the only objects of charity. In this view of the

case, the primary effort in relieving the poor should be to

furnish them the means of earning their own support, and

to supply them with those moral influences which are most

effectual in securing virtue and industry.

Anotiier point to be attended to is the importance ot

maintaining a system of assodated charities. There is no

point in which the economy of charity has more improved

than in the present mode of combining many small contri


butions, for sustaining enlarged and systematic plans of

charity. If all the half-dollars which are now contributed

to aid in organized systems of charity were returned to the

donors, to be applied by the agency and discretion of each,

thousands and thousands of the treasures, now employed to

promote the moral and intellectual wants of mankind,

would become entirely useless. In a democracy like ours,

where few are very rich and the majority are in comfort-

able circumstances, this collecting and dispensing of drops

and rills is the mode by which, in imitation of nature,

the dews and showers are to distill on parched and desert

lands. And every person, while earning a pittance to unite

with many more, may be cheered with the consciousness of

sustaining a grand system of operations which must have

the most decided influence in raising all mankind to that

perfect state of society which Christianity is designed to

bring about.

Another consideration relates to the indiscriminate be-

stowal of charity. Persons who have taken pains to inform

themselves, and who devote their wKoletime to dispensing

charities, unite in declaring that this is one of the most fruit-

fill sources of indolence, vice, and poverty. From several

of these the writer has learned that, by their own personal

investigations, they have ascertained that there are large

establishments of idle and wicked persons in most of our

cities, who associate together to support themselves byevery species of imposition. They hire large houses, andlive in constant rioting on the means thus obtained. Amongthem are women who have or who hire the use of infant

children ; others, who are blind, or maimed, or deformed, or

who can adroitly feign such infirmities; and, by these

means of exciting pity, and by artful tales of woe, they col-

lect alms, both in city and country, to spend in all mannerofgross and guilty indulgences. Meantime many persons,

finding themselves often duped by impostors, refuse to give

at all ; and thus many benefactions are withdrawn, which

&IVING IN CHARITY. 245

a wise economy in charity would have secured. For this

and other reasons, it is wise and merciful to adopt the gen-eral rule, never to give alms till we have had some oppor-

tunity of knowing how they will be spent. There are ex-

ceptions to this, as to every general rule, which a personof discretion can determine. But the practice so commonamong benevolent persons, of giving at least a trifle to all

who ask, lest perchance they may turn away some who are

really sufierers, is one which causes more siii and misery

than it cures.

The writer has never known any system for dispensing

charity so successful as the one by which a town or city is

divided into districts ; and each district is committed to the

care of two ladies, whose duty it is, to call on each family

and leave a book for a child, or do some other deed of neigh-

borly kindness, and make that the occasion for entering into

conversation, and learning the situation of all residents in

the district. By this method, the ignorant, the vicious, and

the poor are discovered, and their physical, intellectual, and

moral wants are investigated. In some places where the

writer has known this mode pursued, each person retained

the same district, year after year, so that every poor family in

the place was under the watch and care of some intelKgent

and benevolent lady, who used all her influence to secure a

proper education for the children, to famish them with suit-

able reading, to encourage habits of industry and economy,

and to secure regular attendance on public religious in-

struction. Thus, the rich and the poor were brought in

contact, in a way advantageous to both parties ; and if such

a system could be universally adopted, more would be done

for the prevention of poverty and vice than all the wealth

of the nation could avail for their relief. But this plan can

not be successfully carried out, in this manner, unless there

is a large proportion of intelligent, benevolent, and self-

denying persons, who unite in a systematic plan.

But there is one species of " qharity " which needs espe-


cial consideration. It is that spirit of kindly love which

induces us to refrain fromjudging of the means and the rela-

tive charities of other persons. There have been such in-

distinct notions, and so many different standards of duty,

on this subject, that it is rare for two persons to think ex-

actly alike, in regard to the rule of duty. Each person is

bound to inquire and judge for himself, as to his own duty

or deficiencies ; but as both the resources and the amount of

the actual charities of others are beyond our ken, it is as

indecorous as it is uncharitable to sit in judgment on their

decisions.

XIX.

ECONOMY OF TIME AND EXPENSES.

The value of time, and our obKgation to spend every hourfor some useful end, are what few minds properly realize.

And those who have the highest sense of their obligations

in this respect, sometimes greatly misjudge in their estimate

of what are useful and proper modes of employing time.

This arises from limited views of the importance of somepursuits, which they would deem frivolous and useless, but

which are in reality necessary to preserve the health of bodyand mind and those social affections which it is very im-

portant to cherish.

Christianity teaches that, for aU the time afforded us, wemust give account to God ; and that we have no right to

waste a single hour. But time which is spent in rest or

amusement is often as usefully employed as if it were de-

voted to labor or devotion. In employing our time, we are

to make suitable allowance for sleep, for preparing and tak-

ing food, for securing the means of a livelihood, for intel-

lectual improvement, for exercise and amusement, for social

enjoyments, and for benevolent and religious duties. Andit is the right a/pportiouTnent of time, to these various duties,

which constitutes its true economy.

In deciding respecting the rectitude of our pursuits, we are

bound to aim at some practical good, as the ultimate object.

With every duty of this life, our benevolent Or'eator has

connected some species of enjoyment, to draw us to perform

it. Thus, the palaite is gratified, by performing the duty of


aourishing our bodies ; the principle of curiosity is gratified

in pursuing useful knowledge ; the desire of approbation is

gratified, when we perform general social duties ; and every

other duty has an alluring enjoymenb connected with it.

But the great mistake of mankiad has consisted m seeking

the pleasures connected with these duties, as the sole aim,

without reference to the main end that should be held in

view, and to which the enjoyment should be made subser-

vient. Thus, men gratify the palate, without reference to

the question whether the body is properly nourished : and

follow after knowledge, without inquiring whether it min-

isters to good or evil ; and seek amusement without refer-

ence to results.

In gratifying the implanted desires of our nature, we are

bound so to restrain ourselves, by reason and conscience, as

always to seek the main objects of existence—the highest

good of ourselves and others ; and never to sacrifice this for

the mere gratification of our desires. We are to gratify appe-

tite, just so far as is consistent with health and usefulness

;

and the desire for knowledge, just so far as will enable us

to do most good by our influence and efforts ; and no farther.

We are to seek social intercourse, to that extent which will

best promote domestic enjoyment and kindly feelings among

neighbors and friends ; and we are to pursue exercise and

amusement, only so far as will best sustain the vigor of body

and mind.

The laws of the Supreme Ruler, when he became the

civil as well as the religious Head of the Jewish theocracy,

furnish an example which it would be well for all atten-

tively to consider, when forming plans for the apportion-

ment of time and property. To properly estimate this ex-

ample, it must be borne in mind, that the main object of

God was, to set an example of the temporal rewards that

follow obedience to the laws of the Creator, and at the

same time to prepare religious teachers to extend the true

religion to the whole race of man.

ECONOMY OF TIME AND EXPEA'tiEK 249

Eefore Christ came, the Jews were not required to goforth to other nations as teachers of religion, nor were the

Jewish nation led to obedience by motives of a life to

come. To them God was revealed, both as a father and a

civil ruler, and obedience to laws relating solely to this

life was all that was required. So low were they in the

scale of civilization and mental development, that a sys-

tem which confined them to one spot, as an agricultural

people, and prevented their growing very rich, or having

extensive commerce with other nations, was indispensable

to prevent their relapsing into the low idolatries and vices

of the nations around them, while temporal rewards and

penalties were more effective than those of a life to

come.

The proportion of time and property, which every Jewwas required to devote to intellectual, benevolent, and re-

ligious purposes, was as follows

:

In regard to property, they were required to give one

tenth of all their yearly income to support the Levites, the

priests, and the religious service. Next, they were required

to give the first-fruits of all their corn, wine, oil, and fruits,

and the first-bom of all their cattle, for the Lord's treasury,

to be employed for the priests, the widow, the fatherless,

and the stranger. The first-born, also, of their children,

were the Lord's, and were to be redeemed by a specified

sum, paid into the sacred treasury. Besides this, they were

required to bring a free-wilL offering to God, every time they

went up to the three great yearly festivals. In addition to this,

regular yearly sacrifices of cattle and fowls were required

of each family, and occasional sacrifices for certain sins or

ceremonial impurities. In reaping their fields, they were

required to leave unreaped, for the poor, the corners ; not

to glean their fields, oHveyards, or vineyards ; and, if a

sheaf was left by mistake, they were not to return for it

but leave it for the poor.

One twelfth of the people were set apart, having no land


ed property, to be priests and teachers; and the othnr

tribes were required to support them liberally.

In regard to the time taken from secular pursuits, fbr the

support of education and religion, an equally liberal

amount was demanded. In the first place, one seventh

part of their time was taken for the weekly sabbath, when

no kind of work was to be done. Then the whole nation

were required to meet at the appointed place three times

a year, which, including their journeys and stay there, oc-

cupied eight weeks, or another seventh part of their time.

Then the sabbatical year, when no agricultural labor was

to be done, took another seventh of their time'from their

regular pursuits, as they were an agricultural people. This

was the amount of time and property demanded by God,

simply to sustain education, religion, and morality within

the boimds of one nation.

It was promised to this nation and falfilled by constant

miraculous interpositions, that in this life, obedience

to God's laws should secure health, peace, prosperity,

and long life ; while for disobedience was threatened war,

pestilence, famine, and all temporal evils. These promises

were constantly verified, and in the day of Solomon, whenthis nation was most obedient, the whole world was movedwith wonder at -its wealth and prosperity. But up to this

time, no attempt was made by God to govern the Israelites

by the rewards and penalties of the world to come.

But " when the fullness of time had come," and the race

of man was prepared to receive higher responsibilities,

Jesus Christ came and " brought life and immortality to

light " with a clearness never before revealed. At the

same timewas revealed the fatherhood ofGod, not to the Jews

alone, but to the whole human race, and the consequent

brotherhood of man ; and these revelations in many respects

changed the whole standard of duty and obligation.

Christ came as " God manifest in the flesh," to set an

example of self-sacrificing love, in rescuing the whole

ECONOMT OF TIME AND EXPENSES. 251

family of man from the dangers of the unseen world, andalso to teach and train his disciples through all time tp fol-

low his example. And those who conform the most consis-

tently to his teachings and example will aim at a standardof labor and self-denial far beyond that demanded of tho

Jews.

It is not always that men understand the economy of

Providence, in that unequal distribution of property which,even under the most perfect form ofgovernment, will alwaysexist. Many, looking at the present state of things, ima-

gine that the rich, if they acted in strict conformity to the

law of benevolence, would share all their property with their

suffering fellow-men. But such do not take into account the

inspired declaration that " a man's life consisteth not in the

abundance of the things which he possesseth," or, in other

words, life is made valuable, not by great possessions, but

by such a character as prepares a man to enjoy what he

holds. God perceives that human character can be most

improved by that kind of discipline which exists when there

is something valuable to be gained by industrious efforts.

.

This stimulus to industry could never exist in a communi-

ty where all are just alike, as it does in a state of society

where every man sees possessed by others enjoyments

which he desires and may secure by effort and industry.

So, in a community where all are alike as to property,

there would be no chance to gain that noblest of all attain-

ments, a habit of self-denying benevolence which toils for the

good of others, and takes from one's own store to increase

the enjoyments of another.

Instead, then, of the stagnation, both of industry and of

benevolence, which would follow the universal and equable

distribution of property, some men, by superior ad-

vantages of birth, or intellect, or patronage, come into pos-

session of a great amount of capital. With these means

they are enabled, by study, reading, and travel, to secure

expansion of mind and just views of the relative advantages


of moral, intellectual, and physical enjoyments. At the

same time, Christianity imposes obligations corresponding

with the increase of advantages and means. The rich are

not at liberty to spend their treasures chiefly for themselves.

Their wealth is given, by God, to be employed for the best

good of mankind ; and their intellectual advantages are de-

signed, primarily, to enable them to judge correctly in em-

ploying their means most wisely for the general good.

Now, suppose a man of wealth inherits ten thousand

acres of real estate ; it is not his duty to divide it among

his poor neighbors and tenants. If- he took this course,

it is probable that most of them would spend all in thrift-'

less waste and indolence, or in mere physical enjoyments.

Instead, then, of thus putting his capital out of his hands,

he is bouiid to retain and so to employ it as to raise his

family and his neighbors to such a state of virtue and in-

telligence that they can secure far more, by their own ef-

forts and industry, than he, by dividing his capital, could

bestow upon them.

In this view of the subject, it is manifest that the unequal

.

distribution of property is no evil. The great difficulty is,

that so large a portion of those who hold much capital, in-,

stead of using their various advantages for the greatest

good of those around them, employ them for mere selfish

indulgences ; thus inflicting as much mischief on themselves

as results to others from their culpable neglect. A great

portion of the rich seem to be acting on the principle

that the more God bestows on them the less are they under

obligation to practice any self-denial in fulfilling his benevo-

lent plan of raising om- race to intelligence and virtue.

But there are cheering examples of the contrary spirit

and prejudice, some of which will be here recorded to in-

fluence and encourage others.

A lady of great wealth, high position, and elegant

culture, in one of our large cities, hired and furnished a

house adjacent to her own, and, securing the aid of another

ECONOMY OF TIME AND EXPENSES. 253

benevolent and cultivated woman, took twelve oi-phan girls,

of different ages, and educated them under their joint care.

'

Not only time and money were given, but love and labor,

just as if these were their own children ; and as fast as one

was provided for, another was taken.

In another city, a young lady with property of her ownhired a house and made it a home for homeless and unpro-

tected women, who paid board when they could earn it, and

found a refuge when out of employment.

In another city, the wife of one of its richest merchants,

living in princely style, took two young girls from the cer-

tain road to ruin among the vicious poor. She boarded

them with a respectable farmer, and sent them to school,

and every week went out, not only to supervise them, but

to aid in training them to habits of neatness, industry, and

obedience, just as if they were her own children. Next,

she hired a large house near the most degraded part of

the city, furnished it neatly and with all suitable conveni-

ences to work, and then rented to those among the most

degraded whom she, could bring to conform to a few simple

rules of decency, industry, and benevolence—one of these

rules being that they should pay her the rent every Satur-

day night. To this motley gathering she became chief

counselor and friend, quieted their brawls, taught them to

aid each other in trouble or sickness, and strove to introduce

among them that law of patient love and kindness, illustrar

ted by her own example. The young girls in this tenement

she assembled every Satm'day at her own house—taught

them to sing, heard them recite their Sunday-school lessons,

to be sure these were properly learned ; taught them to make

and mend their own clothing, trimmed their bonnets, and

took charge of their Sunday dress, that it might always

be in order. Of course, such benevolence drew a stream of

ignorance and misery to her door ; and so successful waj

her labor that she hired a second house, and managed it on

the same plan. One hot day in August, a friend found her


combing the head of a poor, UBgainly, foreign girl. She had

persuaded a friend to take her from compassion, and she

was returned because her head was in such in a state.

Finding no one else to do it, the lady herself bravely met

the difficulty, and persevered in this daily ministry till the

evil was remedied, and the poor girl thus secured a comfor-

table home and wages.

A young lady of wealth and position, with great musical

culture and taste, found among the poor two young girls

with fine voices and great musical talent. Gaining her pa^

rents' consent, the young lady took one of them home, trained

her in music, and saw that her school education was secured,

so that when expensive masters and instruments were need-

ed the girl herself earned the money required, as a gover-

ness in a family of wealthy friends. Then she aided the

sister ; and, as the result, one of them is married happily

to a man of great wealth, and the other is receiving a large

income as a popular musical artist.

Another young girl, educated as a ' fine musician by her

wealthy parents, at the age of sixteen was afflicted with

weak eyes and a heart complaint. She strove to solace her-

self by benevolent ministries. By teaching music to chil-

dren of wealthy friends she earned the means to relieve and

instruct the suflfering, ignorant, and poor.

These examples may suffice to show that, even among the

most wealthy, abundant modes of self-denying benevolence

may be found where there is a heart to seek them.

There is no direction in which a true Christian economy

of time and money is more conspicuous than in the style

of living adopted in the family state.

Those who build stately niansions, and lay out extensive

grounds, and multiply the elegancies of life, to be enjoyed

by themselves and a select few, " have their reward" in the

enjoyments that end in this life. But those who with

equal means adopt a style that enables them largely to devote

time and wealth to the elevation and improvement of their

fellow-men, are laying up never-failing treasures in heaven.

XX.

HEALTH OF MIOT).

Theee 18 Buch an intimate connection between the bodjand mind tliat the health of one can not be preserved with-

out a proper care of the other. And it is from a neglect of

this principle, that some of the most exemplary and con-

scientious persons in the world suffer a thousand mental

agonies from a diseased state of body, whUe others ruin the

health of the body by neglecting the proper care of the

mind.

When the mind is excited by earnest iatellectual effort, or

by strong passions, the blood rushes to the head and the

brain is excited. Sir Astley Cooper records that, in exam-

ining the brain of a young man who had lost a portion of

his skull, wheneyer " he was agitated by some opposition

to his wishes," " the blood was sent with increased force to

his brain," and the pulsations " became frequent and vio-

lent." The same effect was produced by any intellectual ef-

fort ; and the flushed countenance which attends earnest

study or strong emotions of interest of any kind, is an ex-

ternal indication of the suffused state of the brain from

such causes.

In exhibiting the causes which injure the health of the

mind, we shall find them to be partly physical, partly intel-

lectual, and partly moral.

The first cause of mental disease and suffering is not im-

frequently in the want of a proper supply of duly oxygen-

ized blood. It has been shown that the blood, in passing

through the lungs, is purified by the oxygen of tlie air com-


bining with the superabundant hydrogen and carbon of the

venous blood, thus forming carbonic acid and water, which

are expired into the atmosphere. Every pair of lungs is

constantly withdrawing from the surrounding atmosphere

its heathful principle, and returning one which is injurious

to human life.

When, by confinement and this process, the air is depriv-

ed of its appropriate supply of oxygen, the purification of the

blood is interrupted, and it passes without being properly

prepared into the brain, producing languor, restlessness, and

inability to exercise the intellect and feelings. "Whenever,

therefore, persons sleep in a close apartment, or remain for

a length of time in a crowded or ill-ventilated room, a most

pernicious influence is exerted on the brain, and, through

this, on the mind. A person who is often exposed to such

influences can never enjoy that elasticity and vigor of mind

which is one of the chief indications of its health. This is

the reason why all rooms for religious meetings, and all

school-rooms and sleeping apartments should be so contrived

as to secure a constant supply of fresh air from without.

The minister who preaches in a crowded and ill-ventilated

apartment loses much of his power to feel and to speak,

while the audience are equally reduced in their capability of

attending. The teacher who confines children in a close

apartment diminishes their ability to study, or to attend to

instructions. And the person who habitually sleeps in a*

close room impairs mental energy in a similar degree. It is

not unfrequently the case that depression of spirits and

stupor of intellect are occasioned solely by inattention to

this subject.

Another cause of mental disease is the excessive exer-

cise of the intellect or feelings. If the eye is taxed beyond

its strength by protracted use, its blood-vessels become

gorged, and the bloodshot appearance warns of the excess

and the need of rest. The brain is affected in a similar

manner by excessive use, though the suffering and inflamed

HEALTH OF MIND. 257

organ can not make its appeal to the eye. But there are

some indications which ought never to be misunderstood

or disregarded. In cases of pupils at school or at college,

a diseased state, from over-action, is often manifested byincreased clearness of mind, and temporary ease and vigor

of mental action. In one instance, known to the writer, a

most exemplary and industrious pupil, anxious to impi-ove

every hour and ignorant or unmindful of the laws of

health, first manifested the diseased state of her brain and

mind by demands for more studies, and a sudden and earn-

est activity in planning modes of improvement for herself

and others. When warned of her danger, she protested

that she never was better in her life; that she took re-

gular exercise in the open air, went to bed in season, slept

soundly, and felt perfectly well ; that her mind was never

before so bright and clear, and study never so easy and

delightful. And at this time, she was on the verge of

derangement, from which she was saved only by an en-

tire cessation of all intellectual efforts.

A similar case occurred, under the eye of the writer,

from over-excited feelings. It was during a time of un-

usual religious interest in the community, and the mental

disease was first manifested by the pupil bringing her

hymn-book or Bible to the class-room, and making it her

constant resort, in every interval of school duty. It finally

bectoie impossible to convince her that it was her duty to

attend to any thing else ; her conscience became morbidly

sensitive, her perceptions indistinct, her deductions un-

reasonable ; and nothing but entire change of scene and

exercise, and occupation of her mind by amusement, saved

her. When the health of the brain was restored, she

found that she could attend to the " one thing needful,"

not only without interruption of duty or injury to health,

but rather so as to promote both. Clergymen and teachers

need most carefully to notice and guard agaiust the dan-

gers here alluded to.


Atij such attention to religion as prevents the perform-

ance of daily duties and needful relaxation is dangerous,

and tends to produce such a state of the brain as makes

it impossible to feel or judge correctly. And when any

morbid and unreasonable pertinacity appears, much exer-

cise and engagement in other interesting pursuits should

be urged, as the only mode of securing the religious bene-

fits aimed at. And whenever any mind is oppressed with

care, anxiety, or sorrow, the amount of active exercise in

the fresh air should be greatly increased, that the action

of the muscles may withdraw the blood which, in such

seasons, is constantly tending too much to the brain.

There has been a most appalling amount of suffering,

derangement, disease, and death, occasioned by a want of

attention to this subject, in teachers and parents. Un-

common precocity in children is usually the result of an

unhealthy state of the brain ; and in such cases medical

men would now direct that the wonderful child should be

deprived of all books and study, and turned to play out in

the fresh air. Instead of this, parents frequently add fuel

to the fever of the brain, by supplying constant mental

stimulus, until the victim finds refuge in idiocy or an early

grave. Where such fatal results do not occur, the brain

in many cases is so weakened that the prodigy of infancy

sinks below the medium of intellectual powers in after-

life.

In our colleges, too, many of the most promising minds

sink to an early grave, or drag out a miserable existence,

from this same cause. And it is an evil as yet little alle-

viated by the increase of physiological knowledge. Every

college and professional school, and every seminary for

young ladies, needs a medical man or woman, not only to

lecture on physiology and the laws of health, but empow-ered by official capacity to investigate the case of every

pupil, and, by authority, to enforce such a course of

study, exercise and repose, as the physical system, requires.

HEALTH OF MIND. 259

The writer has found by experience that in a large institu-

tion there is one class of pupils who need to be restrained

by penalties from late hours and excessive study, as mucli

as another class need stimulus to industry.

Under the head of excessive mental action, must be

placed the iadulgence of the imagination in novel-reading

and " castle-building." This kind of stimulus, unless coun-

terbalanced by physical exercise, not only 'wastes time and

energies, but undermines the vigor of the nervous system.

The imagination was designed by our wise Creator as a

charm and stimulus to animate to benevolent activity;

and its perverted exercise seldom fails to bring a penalty.

Another cause of mental disease is the want of the ap-

propriate exercise of the various faculties of the mind. Onthis point. Dr. Combe remarks :

" We have seen that, by

disuse, muscles become emaciated, bone softens, blood-ves-

sels are obliterated, and nerves lose their characteristic

structure. The brain is no exception to this general rule.

The tone of it is also impaired by permanent inactivity,

and it becomes less fit to manifest the mental powers with

readiness and energy." It is " the withdrawal of the

stimulus necessary for its healthy exercise which renders

solitary confinement so severe a punishment, even to the

most daring minds. It is a lower degree of the same cause

which renders continuous seclusion from society so inju-

rious to both mental and bodily health."

" Inactivity of intellect and of feeling is a very frequent

predisposing cause of every form of nervous disease. For

demonstrative evidence of this position, we have only to

look at the numerous victims to be found among persons

who have no call to exertion in gaining the means of sub-

sistence, and no objects of interest on which to exercise

their mental faculties, and who consequently sink into

a state of mental sloth and nervous weakness." " If we

look abroad upon society, we shall find innumerable exam-

ples of mental and nervous debility from this cause. Wlien


a person of some mental capacity is confined for a long

time to an unvarying round of employment which affords

neither scope nor stimulus for one half of the faculties, and,

from want of education or society, has no external re-

som'ces ; the mental powers, for want of exercise, become

blmited, and the perceptions slow and dull." " The intel-

lect and feelings, not being provided with interests external

tq themselves, must either become inactive and weak, or

work upon themselves and become diseased."

" The most frequent victims of this kind of predisposi-

tion are females of the middle and higher ranks, especially

those of a nervous constitution and good natural abilities

;

but who, from an ill-directed education, possess nothing

more solid than mere accomplishments, and have no ma-

terials for thought," and no " occupation to excite interest

or demand attention." " The liability of such persons to

melancholy, hysteria, hypochondriasis, and other varieties

of mental distress, really depends on a state of irritability

of the brain, induced by imperfect exercise."

These remarks of a medical man illustrate the principles

before indicated ; namely, that the demand of Christianity,

that we live to promote the general happiness, and not

merely for selfish indulgence, has for its aim not only the

general good, but the highest happiness of the individual

of whom it is required in offering abundant exercise for

all the noblest faculties.

A person possessed of wealth, who has nothing more

noble to engage attention than seeking personal enjoy-

ment, subjects the mental powers and moral feelings to a

degree of inactivity utterly at war with health and mind.

A.nd the greater the capacities, the greater are the suffer-

ings which result from this cause. Any one who has read

the misanthropic wailings of Lord Byron has seen the ne-

cessary result of great and noble powers bereft of their ap-

propriate exercise, and, in consequence, becoming sources

of the keenest suffering.

BEALTS OF MIND. 261

It is tLis view of the Bubject whicli has often awakenedfeelings of sorrow and anxiety in the mind of the writer,

while aiding in the development and education of superior

feminine minds, in the wealthier circles. Not because there

are not noble objects for interest and effort, abundant, and

within reach of such minds ; but because long-established

custom has made it seem so quixotic to the majority, even

of the professed followers of Christ, for a woman of wealth

to practice any great self-denial, that few have independence

of mind and Christian principle sufficient to overcome such

an influence. The more a mind has its powers developed,

the more does it aspire and pine after some object worthy

of its energies and affections; and they are commonplace

and phlegmatic characters who are most free from such

deep-seated wants. Many a young woman, of fine genius

and elevated sentiment, finds a charm in Lord Byron's

writings, because they present a glowing picture of wh>at,

to a certain extent, must be felt by every well-developed

mind which has no nobler object in life than the pursuit

of self-gratification.

If young ladies of wealth could pursue their education

imder the full conviction that the increase of their powers

and advantages increased their obligations to use all for

the good of society, and with some plan of benevolent en-

terprise in view, what new motives of interest would be

added to their daily pursuits ! And what blessed results

would follow to our beloved country, if all well-educated

women carried- out the principles of Christianity, in the

exercise of their developed powers

!

The benevolent activities called forth in our late dread-

ful war illustrate the blessed influence on character and

happiness in having a noble object for which to labor and

suffer. In illustration of this, may be mentioned the ex-

perience of one of the noble women who, in a sickly cli-

mate and fervid season, devoted herself to the ministries

of a military hospital. Separated from an adored bus-


band, deprived of wonted comforts and luxuries, and toil-

ing in humble and unwonted labors, slie yet recalls this as

one of the happiest periods of her life. And it was not the

mere exercise of benevolence and piety in ministering

comfort and relieving suffering. It was, still more, the ele-

vated enjoyment which only an enlarged and cultivated

miad can attain, in the inspirations of grand and far-reach-

ing results purchased by such sacrifice and suffering. It

was ia aiding to save her well-loved country fi-om impend-

ing ruin, and to preserve to coming generations the bless-

ings of true liberty and self-government, that toils and

suffering became triumphant joys.

Every Christian woman who " walks by faith and not by

sight," who looks forward to the results of self-sacrificing

labor for the ignorant and sinful as they will enlarge and

expand through everlasting ages, may rise to the same ele-

vated sphere of experience and happiness.

On the contrary, the more highly cultivated the mind

devoted to mere selfish enjoyment, the more are the sources

of true happiness closed and the soul left to helpless empti-

ness and unrest.

The indications of a diseased mind, owing to the want

of the proper exercise of its powers, are apathy, discon-

tent, a restless longing for excitement, a craving for unat-

tainable good, a diseased and morbid action of the imagi-

,

nation, dissatisfaction with the world, and factitious inter-

est in trifies which the mind feels to be unworthy of its

powers. Such minds sometimes seek alleviation in excit-

ing amusements ; others resort to the grosser enjoyments

of sense. Oppressed with the extremes of languor, or

over-excitement, or apathy, the body fails under the wear-

ing process, and adds new causes of suffering to the mind.

Such, the compassionate Saviour calls to his servi3(!, in

the appropriate terms, " Come unto me, all ye that labor

and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take myyoke upon you, and learn of me," " and ye shall find rest

unto your souls."

XXI.

THE CAEE OF INFAUT8.

The topic of this chapter may well be prefaced by an

extract fi-om Herbert Spencer on the treatment of offspring.

He first supposes that some future philosophic speculator,

examining the course of education of the present period,

should find nothing relating to the training of children,

and that his natm-al inference would be that our

schools were all for monastic orders, who have no charge

of infancy and childhood. He then remarks, " Is it not an

astonishing fact that, though on the treatment of offspring

depend their lives or deaths and their moral welfare or

ruin, yet not one word of instruction on the treatment of

offspring is ever given to those who will hereafter be

parents ? Is it not monstrous that the fate of a new gene-

ration should be left to the chances of unreasoning custom,

or impulse, or fancy, joined with the suggestions of igno-

rant nurses and the prejudiced counsel of grandmothers ?

" If a merchant should commence business without any

knowledge of arithmetic or book-keeping, we should ex-

claim at his folly and look for disastrous consequences.

Or 'if, without studying anatomy, a man setup as a sur-

geon, we should wonder at his audacity and pity his pa-

tients. But that parents should commence the difficult

work of rearing children without giving any attention to

the principles, physical, moral, or intellectual, which ought

to guide them, excites neither surprise at the actors nor

pity for the victims."

" To tens of thousands that are killed add hundreds oi


thousands that surviye with feeble constitutions, and millions

not so strong as they should be ; and you will have some idea

of the curse inflicted on their offspring, ]»y parents ignorant

of the laws of life. Do but consider for a moment that

the regimen to which children are subject is hourly teUing

upon them to their life-long injury or benefit, and that

there are twenty ways of going wrong to one way of go-

ing right, and you will get some idea of the enormous

mischief that is almost everywhere inflicted by the thought-

less, hap-haârd system in common use."

" When sons and daughters grow up sickly and feeble,

parents conmaonly regard the event as a visitation of

Providence. They assume that these evils come without

cause, or that the cause is supernatural. Nothing of the

kind. In some cases causes are inherited, but in most

cases foolish management is the cause. Yery generally

parents themselves are rosponsible for this pain, this de-

bility, this depression, this misery. They have under-

taken to control the lives of their offspring, and with cruel

carelessness have neglected to learn those vital processes

which they are daily affecting by their commands andprohibitions. In utter ignorance of the simplest physiolo-

gical laws, they have been, year by year, undermining the

constitutions of their children, and so have inflicted dis-

ease and premature death, not only on them but also on

their descendants.

" Equally great are the ignorance and consequent injury,

when we turn from the physical to the moral training.

Consider the yoimg, untaught mother and her nm-sery le-

gislation. A short time ago she was at school, where her

memory was crammed with words and names and dates,

and her reflective faculties scarcely in the slightest degree

exercised—where not one idea was given her respecting

the methods of dealing with the opening mind of child-

hood, and where her discipline did not in the least fit her

for thinking out methods of her own. The intervening

TBE CARE OF INFANTS. 265

years have been spent in practicing music, fancy work,novel-reading and party-going, no thought having beengiven to the grave responsibilities of maternity, andscarcely any of that solid intellectiial culture obtained

which would fit her for such responsibilities ; and now see

her with an unfolding human character committed to her

charge, see her profoundly ignorant of the phenomenawith which she has to deal, undertaking to do that whichcan be done but imperfectly even with the aid of the pro-

foundest knowledge !"

In view of such considerations, every young lady ought

to learn how to take proper care of an infant ; for, even if

she is never to become the responsible guardian of a

nursery, she will often be in situations where she can ren-

der benevolent aid to others, in this most fatiguing and

anxious duty.

The writer has known instances in which young ladies,

who had been trained by their mothers properly to

perform this duty, were in some cases the means of saving

the lives of infants, and in others, of relieving sick moth-

ers from intolerable care and anguish by their benevolent

aid.

On this point. Dr. Combe remarks, " AH women are

not destined, in the course of nature, to become mothers

;

but how very small is the number of those who are un-

connected, by family ties, friendship, or sympathy, with the

children of others ! How very few are there, who, at some

time or other of their lives, would not find their useful-

ness and happiness increased, by the possession of a kind

of knowledge intimately allied to their best feelings and

affections ! And how important is it, to the mother her-

self, that her efforts should be seconded by intelligent, in-

stead of ignorant assistants!"

In order to be prepared for such benevolent ministries,

every young lady should improve the opportunity, when-

ever it is afforded her, for learning how to wash, dress,


and teiid a young infant ; and whenever she meets with

such a work as Dr. Combe's,,on the management of in-

fants,^ she ought to read it, and remember its contents.

It was the design of the author to fill this chapter

chiefly with extracts from various medical writers, giving

some of the most important directions on this subject;

but finding these extracts too prolix for a work of this

kind, she has condensed them into a shorter compass. Some

are quoted verbatim, and some are abridged, from the

most approved writers on this subject.

" IsTearly one half of the deaths, occurring during the

first two years of existence, are ascribable to mismanage-

ment, and to errors in diet. At birth, the stomach is fee-

ble, and as yet unaccustomed to food; its cravings are

consequently easily satisfied, and frequently renewed."

"At that early age, there ought to be no fixed time for

giving nourishment. The stomach can not be thus satis-

fied." " The active call of the infant is a sign, which

needs never be mistaken."" But care must be taken to determine between the crying

ofpain or uneasiness, and the call for food ; and the practice

of giving an infant food, to stop its cries, is often the means

of increasing its sufierings. After a child has satisfied its

hunger, from two to four hours should intervene before

another supply is given."

" At birth, the stomach and bowels, never having been

used, contain a quantity of mucous secretion, which re-

quires to be removed. To effect this, Ifature has rendered

the first portions of theonother's milk purposely watery and

laxative. Nurses, however, distrusting Nature, often has-

ten to administer some active purgative; and the conse-

quence often is, irritation in the stomach and bowels, not

easily subdued." It is only where the child is deprived of its

mother's milk, as the first food, that some gentle laxative

should be given.

" It is a common mistake, to suppose that because a wo-

TSE CARE OF INFANTS. 261

man is nursing, slie ought to live very Mly, and to add an

allowance of wine, porter, or other fermented liquor, to her

usual diet. The only result of this plan is, to cause anunnatural fullness in the system, which places the nurse onthe brink of disease, and retards rather than increases the

food of the infant. More will be gained by the observance

of the ordinary laws of health, than by any foolish devia-

tion, founded on ignorance."

There is no point on which medical men so emphatically

lift the voice of warning as in reference to administering

medicines to infants. It is so difficult to discover what is the

matter with an infant, its frame is so delicate and so sus-

ceptible, and slight causes have such a powerful influence,

that it requires the utmost skill and judgment to ascertain

what would be proper medicines, and the proper quantity

to be given.

Says Dr. Combe, " That there are cases in which active

means must be promptly used to save the child, is perfectly

true. But it is not less certain that these are cases of

which no mother or nurse ought to attempt the treatment.

As a general rule, where the child is well managed, medi-

cine, of any kind, is very rarely required ; and if disease

were more generally regarded in its true light, not as some-

thing thrust into the system, which requires to be expelled

by force, but as an aberration from a natural mode of action,

produced by some external cause, we should be in less

haste to attack it by medicine, and more watchful in its

prevention. Accordingly, where a constant demand for

medicine exists in a nursery, the mother may rest assured

that there is something essentially wrong in the treatment

of her children."

" Much havoc is made among infants, by the abuse of

calomel and other medicines, which procure momentary

relief but end by producing incurable disease ;and it has

often excited my astonishment, to see how recklessly reme-

dies of this kind are had recourse to, on thel most trifling


occasions, by mothers and nurses, wtio would be horrified

if they knew the nature of the power they are wielding,

and the extent of injury they are inflicting."

Instead, then, of depending on medicine for the preserva-

tion of the health and life of an infant, the following pre-

cautions and preventives should be adopted.

" Take particular care of the food of an infant. If it is

nourished by the mother, her own diet should be simple,

nourishing, and teniperate. If the child be brought up' by hand,' the milk of a new-milch cow, mixed with one

third water, and sweetened a little with white sugar, should

be the only food given, until the teeth come. This is more

suitable than any preparations of flour or arrowroot, the

nourishment of which is too highly concentrated. Never

give a child bread, cake, ,or meat, before the teeth appear.

If the food appear to distress the child after eating, first

ascertain if the milk be really from a new-milch cow, as it

may otherwise be too old. Learn, also, whether the cow

lives on proper food. Cows that are fed on still-slops, as is

often the case in cities, furnish milk which is very un-

healthful."

Be sure and keep a good supply of pure and fresh air in

the nursery. On this point. Dr. Bell remarks, respecting

rooms constructed without fireplaces and without doors or

windows to let in pure air from without, " The sufferings

of children of feeble constitutions are increased beyond

measure, by such lodgings as these. An action, brought

by the commonwealth, ought to lie against those persons

who build houses for sale or ren,t, in which rooms are so

constructed as not tp allow of free ventilation ; and a writ

of lunacy taken out against those who, with the common-

sense experience which all have on this head, should spend

any portion of their time, still more, should sleep, in rooms

thus nearly air-tight."

After it is a month or two old, take an infant out to

walk, or ride, in a little wagon, every fair and warm day

;

TÊ CAME OF INFANTS. 269

but be very careful that its feet, and every part of its body,

are kept warm ; and be sure that its eyes are well protected

from the light. "Weak eyes, and sometimes blindness, 'are

caused by neglecting this precaution. ' Keep the head of an

infant cool, never allowing too warm bonnets, nor permit-

ting it to sink into soft pillows when asleep. Keeping an

infant's head too warm very much increases nervous irrita-

bility ; and this is the reason why medical men forbid the

use of caps for infants. But the head of an infant should,

especially while sleeping, be protected from draughts of air,

and from getting cold.

Be very carefal of the skin of an infant, as nothing tends

so effectually to prevent disease. For this end, it should

be washed all over every naoming, and then gentle friction

should be applied with the hand, to the back, stomach,

bowels, and limbs. The head should be thoroughly washed

every day, and then brushed with a soft hair-brush, or

combed with a fine comb. If, by neglect, dirt accumulates

under the hair, apply with the finger the yolk of an egg,

and then the fine comb will remove it all, without any

trouble.

Dress the infant so that it will be always warm, but not

so as to cause perspiration. Be sure and keep its feet

always warm; and for this often warm them at a fire,

and use long dresses. Keep the neck and arms covered.

For this purpose, wrappers, open in front, made high in the

neck, with long sleeves, to put on over the frock, are nowvery fashionable.

It is better for both mother and child, that it should not

sleep on the mother's arm at night, unless the weather be

extremely ^cold. This practice keeps the child too waVm,

and leads it to seek food too frequently. A child should

ordinarily take nourishment but twice in the night. Acrib beside the mother, with plenty of warm and light

covering, is best for the child ; but the mother must be sure

that it is always kept warm.

270 TEE HOUSEKEEPER-S MANUAL.

Never eoTer a child's head, so that it will inhale the air

of its own lungs. In very warm weather, especially in cities,

gi'eat pains shoiild be taken to find fresh and cool air by

rides and sailing. "Walks in a public square in the cool of

the morning, and frequent excursions in ferry or steam-

boats, would often save a long bill for medical attendance.

In hot nights, the windows should be kept open, and the

infant laid on a mattress, or on folded blankets. A bit of

straw matting, laid over a feather bed and covered with the

under sheet, makes a very cool bed for an infant.

Cool bathing, in hot weather, is very useful; but tie

water should be very little cooler than the skin of the child.

Wlien the constitution is delicate, the water should be

slightly warmed. Simply sponging the body freely in a

tub, answers the same purpose as a regular bath. In ver^

warm weather, this should be done two or three times a day,

always waiting two or three hours after food has been given.

" When the stomach is peculiarily irritable, (from teeth-

ing,) it is of paramount necessity to withhold all "the nos-

trums which have been so falsly lauded as ' sovereign cures

for cholera infantum^ The true restoratives for a child

threatened with disease are cool air, cool bathing, and cool

drinks of simple water, in addition to ^>qper food, at stated

intervals."

In many cases, change of air from sea to mountain,

or the reverse, has an immediate healthful influence and is

superior to every other treatment. Do not take the advice

of mothers who tell of this, that, and the other thing,

which liave proved excellent remedies in their experience.

Children have different constitutions, and there are multi-

tudes of different causes for their sickness ; and what mightcure one child, might kill another, which appeared to have

the same complaint. > A mother should go on the general

rule of giving an infant very little niedicine, and then only

by the direction of a discreet and experienced physician.

And there are cases, when, according to the views of the

THE CABE OF INFANTS. 271

most distingmshed and competent practitioners, physicians

themselves are much too free in using medicines, instead

of adopting preventive measures.

Do not allow a child to form such habits that it will

not be quiet unless tended and amused. A healthy child

should be accustomed to lie or sit in its cradle much of the

time ; but it should occasionally be taken up and tossed,

or carried about for exercise and amusement. An infant

should be encouraged to creep, as an exercise very strength-

ening and useful. If the mother fears the soiling of its

nice dresses, she can keep a long slip or apron which will

entirely cover the dress, and can be removed when the

child is taken in the arms. A child should not be allowed,

when quite young, to bear its weight on its feet very long

at a time, .is this tends to weaken and distort the limbs.

Many mothers, with a little painstaking, succeed in put-

ting their infants into their cradle while awake, at regular

hours for sleep ; and induce regularity in other habits,

which saves much trouble. During this training process a

child may cry, at first, a great deal ; but for a healthy child,

this iise of the lungs does no harm and tends rather to

strengthen than to injure them, unless it becomes exceed-

ingly violent. A child whq is trained to lie or sit and

amuse itself, is happier than one who is carried and tended

a great deal, and thus rendered restless and uneasy whennot so indulged.

The most critical period in the life of an infant is that

of dentition or teething, especially at the early stages. Anadult has thirty-two teeth, but young children have only

twenty^ which gradually loosen and are followed by the

permanent teeth. When the child has ten teeth on each

jaw, all that are added are the permanent set, which should

be carefully preserved ; this caution ie needful, as sometimes

decay in the first double teeth of the second set are sup-

posed to be of the transient set, and are so neglected,

or are removed instead of being preserved by plug-


ging. When tlie first teeth rise so as to press against

the gums, there is always more or less inflammation, caus-

ing nervous fretfulness, and the impulse to put every thing

into the mouth. Usually there is disturbed sleep, a slight

fever, and greater flow of saliva ; this is often relieved by

letting the child have ice to bite, tied in a rag.

Sometimes the disorder of the mouth extends to the whole

system. In difficult teething, one symptom is the jerking

back of the head when taking the breath, as if in pain, owing

to the extreme soreness of the gums. This is, in extreme

cases, attended with increased saliva and a giunmy secretion in

the corners of the eyes, itching of the nose, redness of cheeks,

rash, convulsive twitching of lips and the muscles generally,

fever, constipation, and sometimes by a diarrhea, which

last is favorable if slight ; difficulty of breathing, dilation

of the pupils of the eyes, restless motion and moaning ; and

finally, if not relieved, convulsions and death. The most

effective relief is gained by lancing the gimis. Every wo-

man, and esjDecially every mother, should know the time

and order in which the infant teeth come, and, when any of

the above symptoms appear, should examine the mouth,

and if a gum is swollen and inflamed, should either have a

physician lance it, or if this can not be done, should per-

form the operation herself. A sharp pen-knife and steady

hand making incision to touch the rising tooth will cause

no more pain than a simple scratch of the gum, and usu-

ally will give speedy relief.

The temporary teeth should not be removed until the

new ones appear, as it injures the jaw and coming teeth

;

but as soon as a new tooth is seen pressing upward, the tem-

porary tooth should be removed, or the new tooth will

come out of its proper place. If there is not room wherethe new tooth appears, the next temporary tooth must betaken out. Great mischief has been done by removing the

first teeth before the second appear, thus making a con-

traction of the jaw.

THE CARE OF INFANTS. 2l3

Most trouble with the teeth of young children comesfrom neglect to use the bmsh to remove the tartar that ac-

cumulates near the gum, causing disease and decay. Thisdisease is sometimes called scurvy, and is shown by an accu-

mulation around the teeth and by inflamed gums that

bleed easily. Hemoval of the tartar by a dentist and clean-

ing the teeth after every meal with a brush will usually cure

this evil, which causes loosening of the teeth and a badbreath.

Much injury is often done to teeth by using improi)or

tooth-powder. Powdered chalk sifted through muslin is

approved by all dentists, and should be used once every

day. The tooth-brush should be used after every meal, andfloss sUk pressed between the teeth to remove food lodged

there. This method will usually save the teeth from de-

cay till old age.

When an infant seems ill during the period of dentition,

the following directions from an experienced physician

may be of service. It is now an accepted principle of all

the medical world that fevers are to be reduced by cold

applications ; but afl infant demands careful and judicious

treatment in this direction ; some have extremely sensitive

nerves, and cold is painful. For such, tepid sponging

should be used near a fire, and the coldness increased grad-

ually. The sensations of the child should be the guide.

Usually, but not always, children that are healthy will

learn by degrees to prefer cold water, and then it may safe-

ly be used.

When an infant becomes feverish, wrapping its body in

a towel wrung out in warm or tepid water, and then keep-

ing it warm in a woolen blanket, is a very safe and sooth-

ing remedy.

In case of constipation this preparation of food is useful

:

One table-spoonful of unbolted flour wet with cold water.

Add one pint of hot water, and boil twenty minutes. Addwhen taken up, one pint of , milk. If the stomach seema


delicate and irritable, strain out the bran, but in most cases

retain it.

In case of diarrbea, walk -with the cbild in arms ,a great

deal in tbe open air, and give it rice-water to drink.

The warmth and vital influences of the nurse are very

important, and make this mode of exercise both moresoothing and more efficacious, especially in the open air,

the infant being warmly clad.

In case of feverishness from teething or from any other

cause, wrap the infant in a towel wrung out in tepid wa-

ter and then wrap it in a woolen blanket. The water maybe cooler according as the child is older and stronger.

The evaporation of the water di'aws off. the heat, while

the moisture soothes the nerves, and usually the child will

fall into a quiet sleep. As soon as it becomes restless,

change the wet towel and proceed as before.

The leading physicians of Europe and of this country,

in all cases of fevers, use water to reduce them, by this

and other modes of application. This method is more

soothing than any other, and is as effective for adults as

for infants.

Some of the most distinguished physicians of New-Tork who have examined this chapter give their full ap-

proval of the advice given. If there is still distrust as to

this mode of using water to reduce fevers, it will be ad-»

vantageous to read an address on the use of cold applica-

tions in fevers, delivered by Dr. William Neftel, before

the I^Tew-York Academy of Medicine, published in the

Iêw- York Medical Record for November, 1868 : this

can be obtained by inclosing twenty cents to the editor,

with the post-office address of the applicant.

XXII.

THE MANAGEMENT OF TOtTNG CHILDEEN.

Im" regard to the physical education of children, Dr,

Clarke, Physician in Ordinary to the Queen of England,

expresses views on one point, in which most physicians

would coincide. He says, " There is no greater error in the

management of children, than that of giving them animal

diet very early. By persevering in the use of an over-stimula-

ting diet the digestive organs become irritated, and the vari-

ous secretions immediately connected with digestion, and

necessary to it, are diminished, especially the hiliary secre-

tion. Children so fed become very liable to attacks of

fever, and inflammation, affecting particularly the mucous

membranes; and measles and other diseases incident to

childhood, are generally severe in their attacks."

The result of the treatment of the inmates of the Orphan

Asylum, at Albany, is one which all who have the care of

young childi-en should deeply ponder. During the first six

years of the existence of this institution, its average number

of children was eighty. For the first three years, their diet

was meat once a day, fine bread, rice, Indian puddings,

vegetables, fruit, and milk. Considerable attention was

given to clothing, fresh air, and exercise ; and they were

bathed once in three weeks. During these three years, from

four to six childrenj and sometimes more, were continually

on the sick-list ; one or two assistant nurses were necessary

;

a physician was called two or three times a week ; and, in

this time, there were between thirty and forty deaths. At

the end of this period, the management was changed, in


these respects : daily ablutions of the whole body were

practiced ; bread of unbolted flour was substituted for that

of fine wheat ; and all animal food was banished. Moreattention also was paid to clothing, bedding, fresh air, and

exercise.

The result was, that the nursery was vacated; the

nurse and physician were no longer needed ; and, for

two years, not a single case of sickness or death occurred.

The tliird year also, there were no deaths, except those of

two idiots and one other child, all of whom were new in-

mates, who had not been subjected to this treatment. The

teachers of the children also testified there was a manifest

increase of intellectual vigor and activity, while there was

much less irritability of temper.

Let parents, nurses, and teachers reflect on the above

statement, and bear in mind that stupidity of intellect, and

irritability of temper, as well as ill-health, are often caused

by the mismanagement of the nursery in regard to the

physical training of children.

There is probably no practice more deleterious, than

that of allowing children to eat at short intervals, through

the day. As the stomach is thus kept constantly at work,

with no time for repose, its functions are deranged, and a

weak or disordered stomach is the jBrequent result. Chil-

dren should be required to keep cakes, nuts, and other

good things, which should be sparingly given, till just be-

fore a meal, and then they will form a part of their regular

supply. This is better than to wait till after their hunger

is satisfied by food, when they will eat the niceties merely

to gratify the palate, and thus overload the stomach and

interi'upt digestion.

In regard to the intellectual training of young childreu,

some modification in the common practice is necessary,

with reference to their physical well-being. More care is

needful, in providing well-ventilated school-rooms, and in

securing more time for sports in the open air, during school

TSE MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CBILDREN. 211

hours. It is very importaiit to most mothers that their

young children should be removed from their care during

certain school hours ; and it is very useful for quite youngchildi'en, to be subjected to the discipline of a school, and

to intercourse with other children of their own age. And,with a suitable teacher, it is no matter how early children

are sent to school, provided their health is not endangered by

impure air, too much confinement, and too great mental

stimulus, which is the chief danger of the present age.

In regard to the formation of the moral character, it has

been too much the case that the discipline of the nursery

has consisted of disconnected efforts to make children either

do, or refrain fi'om doing, certain particular acts. Do this,

and be rewarded ; do that, and be punished ; is the ordi-

naiy routine of family government.

But children can be very early taught that their happy

ness, both now and hereafter, depends on the formation of

habits of submission, self-denial, and benevolence. Andall the discipline of the nursery can be conducted by

parents, not only with this general aim in their own minds,

but also with the same object daily set before the minds of

the children. Whenever their wishes are crossed, or their

wills subdued, they can be taught that all this is done, not

merely to please the parent, or to secure some good to

themselves or to others ; but as a part of that merciful

training which is designed to form such a character, and

such habits, that they can hereafter find their chief happi-

ness in giving up their will to God, and in living to do good

to others, instead of living merely to please themselves.

It can be pointed out to them, that they must always

submit their will to the will of God, or else be continually

miserable. It can be shown how, in the nursery, and in

the 'school, and through all future days, a child must

practice the giving up of his will and wishes, when they

interfere with the rights and comfort of others ; and how

important it is, early to learn to do this, so that it will, by


habit, become easy and agreeable. It can be shown howchildren who are indulged in all their wishes, and who are

never accustomed to any self-denial, always find it hard to

refrain from what injures themselves and others. It can be

shown, also, how important it is for every person to form

such habits of benevolence toward others that self-denial

in doing good will become easy.

Parents have learned, by experience, that children can

be constrained by authority and penalties to exercise self-

denial, for their own good, till a habit is formed which

makes the duty comparatively easy. For example, well

trained children can be accustomed to deny themselves

tempting articles of food, which are injurious, until the

practice ceases to be painful and difficult. Whereas, an

indulged child would be thrown into fits of anger or

discontent, when its wishes were crossed by restraints of

this kind.

But it has not been so readily discerned, that the same

method is needful in order to form a habit of self-denial in

doing good to others. It has been supposed that while

children must be forced, by authority, to be self-denying

and prudent in regard to their own happiness, it mayproperly be left to their own discretion, whether they will

practice any self-denial in doing good to others. But the

more difficult a duty is, the greater is the need of parental

authority in forming a habit which will make that duty easy.

In order to secure this, some parents turn their earliest

efforts to this object. They require the young child

always to offer to others a part of every thing which it

receives ; always to comply with all reasonable requests of

others for service ; and often to practice little acts of self-

denial, in order to secure some enjoyment for others. If

one child receives a present of some nicety, he is required

to share it with all his brothers and sisters. If one asks

his brother to help him in some study or sport, and is met

with a denial, the parent requires the unwilling child to act

TBE MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN. 279

benevolently, and give up some of his time to increase hisbrother's enjoyment. Of course, in such an effort as this,

discretion must be used as to the frequency and extent ofthe exercise of authority, to induce a habit of benevolence.But where parents deliberately aim at such an object, andwisely conduct their instructions and discipline to secureit, very much will be accomplished.

In regard to forming habits of obedience, there havebeen two extremes, both of which need to be shunned.One is, a stern and unsympathizing maintenance ofparental

authority, demanding perfect and constant obedience,

without any attempt to convince a child of the j)ropriety

and benevolence of the requisitions, and without anymanifestation of sympathy and tenderness for the pain anddifficulties which are to be met. Under such discipline,

childi-en grow up to fear their parents, rather than to love

and trust them ; while some of the most valuable principles

of character are chilled, or forever blasted.

In shunning this danger, other parents pass to the oppo-

site extreme. They put themselves too much on the

footing of equals with their childi-en, as if little were due to

superiority of relation, age, and experience. Nothing is

exacted, without the implied concession that the child is to

be q, judge of the propriety of the requisition ; and reason

and persuasion are employed, where simple coilamand and

obedience would be far better. This system produces a

most pernicious influence. Children soon perceive the

position thus allowed them, and take every advantage of it.

They soon learn to dispute parental requirements, acquire

habits of forwardness and conceit, assume disrespectful

manners and address, maintain their views with pertinacity,

and yield to authority with ill-humor and resentment, as if

their rights were infringed upon.

The medium course is for the parent to take the attitude

of a superior in age, knowledge, and relation, who has a

perfect right to control every action of the child, and that,


too, without giving any reason for the requisitions. " Obey

hecause yourparent commands,^^ is always a proper and suffi-

cient reason : though not always the best to give.

But care should be taken to coiivince the child that the

parent is conducting a course of discipline, designed to

make him happy ; and in forming habits of implicit obedi-

ence, self-denial, and benevolence, the child should have the

reasons for most requisitions kindly stated ; never, however,

on the demand of it from the child, as a right, but as an act

of kindness from the parent.

It is impossible to govern children properly, especially

those of strong and sensitive feelings, without a constant

effort to appreciate the value which they attach to their

enjoyments and pursuits. A lady of great strength ofmind

and sensibility once told the writer that one of the most

acute periods of suffering in her whole life was occasioned

by the burning up of some milkweed-silk, by her mother.

The child had found, for the first time, some of this shining

and beautiful substance ; was filled with delight' at her

discovery ; was arranging it in parcels;planning its future

use, and her pleasure in showing it to her companions

—

when her mother, finding it strewed over the carpet, hastily

swept it into the fire, and that, too, with so indifferent "an

air, that the child fled away, almost distracted with grief

and disappointment. The mother little realized the pain

she had inflicted, but the child felt the unkindness so se-

verely that for several days her mother was an object

almost of aversion. While, therefore, the parent needs

to carry on a steady course, which will oblige the child al-

ways to give up its will, whenever its own good or the

greater claims of others require it, this should be constantly

connected with the expression of a tender sympathy for

the trials and disappointments thus inflicted.

Those, again, who will join with children and help them

in their sports, will learn by this mode to understand the

feelings and interests of childhood ; while at the same time,

TSE WAN.A6EMENT OF TOUNQ CHILDREN. 281

they secure a degree of confidence and affection whicli cannot be gained so easily in any other way. And it is to beregretted that parents so often relinquish this most power-ful mode of influence to domestics and playmates, who often

use it in the most pernicious manner. In joining in such

sports, older persons should never yield entirely the attitude

of superiors, or allow disrespectful manners or address.

A.nd respectful deportment is never more cheerfully ac-

corded, than in seasons when young hearts are pleased and

made grateful by having their tastes and enjoyments so ef-

ficiently promoted.

IV'^xt to the want of all government, the two most fruit-

ful sources of evil to children are, imsteadmess in govern-

ment and over-government. Most of the cases in which the

children of sensible and conscientious parents turn out

badly, result fi'om one or the other of these causes. In

cases of unsteady government, either one parent is very

strict, severe and, unbending, and the other excessively in-

dulgent, or else the parents are sometimes very strict and

decided, and at other times allow disobedience to go un-

punished. In such cases, childi-en, never knowing exactly

when they can escape with impunity, are constantly tempted

to make the trial.

The bad effects of this can be better appreciated by ref-

erence to one important principle of the mind. It is found

to be universally true, that, when any object of desire is

put entirely beyond the reach of hope or expectation, the

mind very soon ceases to long for it, and turns to other ob-

jects of pursuit. But so long as the mind is hoping for

some good, and making efforts to obtain it, any opposition ex-

cites irritable feelings. Let the object be put entirelybeyond

all hope, and this irritation soon ceases.

In consequence of this principle, those children who are un-

der the care of persons of steady and decided government

know that whenever a thing is forbidden or denied, it is out

of the reach of hope ; the desire, therefore, soon ceases, and

282 THE BOUSEKEEPEWS MANUAL.

they turn to other objects. But the children of undecided, or

of over-indulgent parents, never enjoy this preserving aid,

When a thing is denied, they never know but either coaxing

may win it, or disobedience secure it without any penalty,

and so they are kept in that state of hope and anxiety which

produces irritation and tempts to insubordination.. The chil-

dren o± very indulgent parents, and of those who are un-

decided and unsteady in government, are very apt to be-

come fretful, irritable, and fractious.

Another class of persons, in shunning this evil, go to the

other extreme, and are very strict and pertinacious in re-

gard to every requisition. With them, fault-finding and

penalties abound, until the children are either hardened

into indifference of feeling, and obtuseness of conscience,

or else become excessively irritable or misanthropic.

It demands great wisdom, patience, and self-control, to

escape these two extremes. In aiming at this, there are

parents who have found the following maxims of very great

value

:

First : Avoid, as much as possible, the multiplication of

rules and absolute commands. Instead of this, take the

attitude of advisers. " My child, this is improper, I wish

you would remember not to do it." This mode of address

answers for all the little acts of heedlessness, awkwardness,

or ill-manners so frequently occurring with children. There

are cases, when direct and distinct commands are needful

;

and in such cases, a penalty for disobedience should be as

steady and sure as the laws of nature. Where such stead-

iness and certainty of penalty attend disobedience, children

no more think of disobeying than they do of putting their

fingers into a burning candle.

The next maxim is, Govern by rewards more than bypenalties. Such faults as willful disobedience, lying, dis-

honesty, and indecent or profane language, should be pun-

ished with severe penalties, after a child has been fully in-

structed in the evil of such practices. But all the constant

THh MANAOEMMNT OF T0UN6 CHILDREN. 283

ly recurring faults of the nursery, such as ill-humor, quar-reling, carelessness, and ill-manners, may, in a great manycases, be regulated by gentle and kind remonstrances, andby the offt^ of some reward for persevering efforts to forma good habit. It is very injurious and degrading to anymind to be kept under the constant fear of penalties. Loveand hope are the principles that should be mainly relied on,

in forming the habits of childhood.

Another maxim, and perhaps the most difficult, is, Donot govern by the aid of severe and angry tones. A single

example- will be given to illustrate this maxim. A child is

disposed to talk and amuse itself at table. The mother re-

quests it to be silent, except when needing to ask for food,

or when spoken to by its older friends. It constantly for-

gets. The mother, instead of rebuking in an impatient

tone, says, "My child, you must remember not to talk. I

will remind you of it four times more, and after that, when-ever you forget, you must leave the table and wait till weare done." If the mother is steady in her, government, it is

not probable that shd will have to apply this slight penalty

more than once or twice. This method is far more effectual

than the use of sharp and severe tones, to secure attention

and recollection, and often answers the purpose as well as

offering some reward.

The writer has been in some famihes where the most ef-

ficient and steady government has been sustained without

the use of a cross or angry tone ; and in others, where a far

less efficient discipline was kept up, by frequent severe re-

bukes and angry remonstrances. In the first case, the chil-

dren followed the example set them, and seldom used severe

tones to each other ; in the latter, the method employed by

the parents was imitated by the children, and cross words

and angry tones resounded from morning till night, in every

portion of the household.

Another important maxim is, Try to keep children in a

happy state of mind. Every one knows, by experience.


that it is easier to do right and submit to rale when cheeiv

ful and happy, than when irritated. This is peculiarly true

of children ; and a wise' mother, when she finds her child

fretful and impatient, and thus constantly doing wrong,

wUl often remedy the whole difficulty, by telling some

amusing story, or by getting the child engaged in some

amusing sport. This strongly shows the importance of

learning to govern children without the employment of an-

gry tones, which always produce irritation.

Children of active, heedless temperament, or those whoare odd, awkward, or unsuitable in their remarks and de-

portment, are often essentially injured by a want of pa-

tience and self-control in those who govern them. Such

children often possess a morbid sensibility which they

strive to conceal, or a desire of love and approbation, which

preys like a famine on the soul. And yet, they become ob-

jects of ridicule and rebuke to almost every member of the

family, until their sensibilities are tortured into obtuseness

or misanthropy. Such children, above all others, need

tenderness and sympathy. A thousand instances of mis-

take or forgetfulness should be passed ov6r in silenjoe,

whUe opportunities for commendation and encouragement

should be diligently sought.

In regard to the formation of habits of self-denial in

childhood, it iS astonishing to see how parents who are very

sensible often seem to regard this matter. Instead of in-

uring their children to this duty in early life, so that by

habit it may be made easy in after-days, they seem to be

studiously seeking to cut them off from every chance to se-

cure such a preparation. Every wish of the child is studi-

ously gratified ; and, where a 'necessity exists of crossing its

wishes, some compensating pleasure is offered, in return.

Such parents often maintain that nothing shall be put on

their table, which their children may not join them in eat-

ing. But where, so easily and surely as at the daily meal,

can that habit of self-denial be formed, which is so needful

TBE MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CSILDBEN. 285

m governing the appetites, and which children must ac-

quire, or be ruined ? The food which is proper for grownpersons, is often unsuitable for children ; and this is a suf-

ficient reason for accustoming them to see others partake

of delicacies, which they must not share. Eequiring chil-

dren to wait till others are helped, and to refrain from con-

versation at table, except when addressed by their elders,

is another mode of forming habits of self-denial and self-

control. Eequiring them to help others first, and to offer

the best to others, has a similar influence.

In forming the moral habits of children, it is wise to take

into account the peculiar temptations to which they are to

be exposed. The people of this nation are emiuently a

trafficking people ; and the present standard of honesty, as

to trade and debts, is very low, and every year seems sink-

ing still lower. It is, therefore, preeminently important,

that children should be trained to strict honesty, both in

word and deed. It is not merely teaching children to avoid

absolute lying, which is needed : all kinds of deceit should

be guarded against ; and all kinds of little dishonest prac-

tices be strenuously opposed. A child should be brought

up with the determined principle, never to run in debt, but

to be content to live in a humbler way, in order to se-

cure that true independence, which should be the noblest

distinction of an American citizen.

There is no more important duty devolving upon a

mother, than the cultivation of habits of modesty and pro-

priety in young children. All indecorous words or deport-

ment should be carefully restrained ; and delicacy and re-

serve studiously cherished. It is a common notion, that it

is important to secm-e these virtues to one sex, more than

to the other ; and, by a strange inconsistency, the sex most

exposed to danger is the one selected as least needing care.

Yet a wise mother will be especially careful that her sons

are trained to modesty and purity of mind.

Yet few mothers are sufficiently aware of the dreadful


penalties which often result from indulged impuritj of

thought. If children, m future life, can be preserved from

licentious associates, it is supposed that their safety is se-

cured. But the records of our insane retreats, and the

pages of medical writers, teach that even in solitude, and

without being aware of the sin or the danger, children mayinflict evils on themselves, which not unfrequently termi-

nate in disease, delirium, and death.

There is no necessity for explanations on this point any

farther than this ; that certain parts of the body are not to

be touched except for purposes of cleanliness, and that the

most dreadful suffering comes from disobeying these com-

mands. So in regard to practices and sins of which a young

child will sometimes inquire, the wise parent will say, thai

this is what children can not understand, and about which

they must not talk or ask questions. And they should be

told that it is always a bad sign, when children talk on

matters which parents call vulgar and indecent, and thai

the company of such children should be avoided. Disclos-

ing details of wrong-doing to young and curious children^

often leads to the very evils feared. But parents and teach-

ers, in this age of danger, should be well informed and

watchful ; for it is not unfrequently the case, that servants

and school-mates will teach young children practices, which

exhaust the nervous system and bring on paralysis, mania,

and death.

And finally, in regard to the early religious training of

children, the examples of the Creator in the early training

of qur race may safely be imitated. That " He is, and is

a rewarder"—that he is everywhere present—that he is a

tender Father in heaven, who is grieved when any of his

children do wrong, yet ever ready to forgive those who are

striving to please him by well-doing, these are the most

effective motives to save the young from the paths of dan-

ger and sin. The rewards and penalties of the life to come

are better adapted to maturer age, than to the imperfect

and often false and fearful conceptions of the childish mind

xxnL

DOMESTIC AHUSKMBNTS AOT) SOCIAL DtlTIES.

Whenbvee the laws of body and mind are properly

understood, it will be allowed that every person needs

some kind of recreation ; and that, by seeking it, the body

is strengthened, the mind is invigorated, and all onr duties

are more cheerfully and successfully performed.

Children, whose bodies are rapidly growing and whose

nervous system is tender and excitable, need much more

amusement than persons of mature age. Persons, also, whoare oppressed with great responsibilities and duties, or whoare taxed by great intellectual or moral excitement, need

recreations which physically exercise and draw off the mind

from absorbing interests. Unfortunately, such persons are

those who least resort to amusements, while the idle, gay,

and thoughtless seek those which are not needed, and for

which useful occupation would be a most beneficial

substitute.

As the only legitimate object of amusement is to prepare

mind and body for the proper discharge of duty, the pro-

tracting of such as interfere with regular employments, or

induce excessive fatigue, or weary the mind, or invade the

proper hours for repose, must be sinful.

In deciding what should be selected, and what avoided,

the following are guiding principles. In the first place, no

amusements which inflict needless pain should ever be

allowed. All tricks which cause fright or vexation, and all

sports which involve suffering to animals, should be utterly

forbidden. Hunting and fishing, for mere sport, can never

288 THE HOUSJEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

be justified. If a man can convince his children that ho

follows these pursuits to gain food or health, and not for

amusenient, his example may not be very injurious. But

when children see grown persons kill and frighten animals,

for sport, habits of cruelty, rather than feelings of tender-

ness and benevolence, are cultivated.

In the next place, we should seek no recreations which

endanger life, or interfere with important duties. As the

legitimate object of amusements is to promote health and

])repare for some serious duties, selecting those which have a

directly opposite tendency, can not be justified. Of "course,

if a person feels that the previous day's diversion has

shortened the hours of needful repose, or induced a lassitude

of mind or body, instead of invigorating them, it is certain

that an evil has been done which should never be repeated.

Another rule which has been extensively adopted in the

religious world is, to avoid those amusements which experi-

ence has shown to be so exciting, and connected with so

many temptations, as to be pernicious in tendency, both to

the individual and to the community. It is on this groimd,

that horse-racing and circus-riding have been excluded.

Not because there is any thing positively wrong in having

men and horses run and perform feats of agility, or in per-

sons looking on for the diversion : but because experience

has shown so many evils connected with these recreations,

that they should be relinquished. So with theatres. The

enacting of characters and the amusement thus afforded in

themselves may be harmless ; and possibly, in certain

cases, might be useful: but experience has shown so manyevils to result from this source, that it has been deemed

wrong to patronize it. So, also, with those exciting games

of chance which are employed in gambling.

Under the same head comes dancing, in the estimation of

the great majority of the religious world. Still, there are

many intelligent, excellent, and conscientious persons who

hold a contrary opinion. Such maintain that it is an inno-

DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS AND SOCIAL DUTIES. 289

cent and healthful amusement, tending to promote ease of

manners, cheerfulness, social affection, and health of mindand body ; that evils are involved only in its excess ; that like

food, study, or religious excitement, it is only -wrong wheHnot properly regulated; and that, if serious and intelli-

gent people would strive to regulate, rather than banish,

this amusement, much more good would be secm-ed.

On the other side, it is objected, not that dancing is

a sin, in itself considered, for it was once a part of saci'ed

worship ; not that it would be objectionable, if it were

properly regulated ; not that it does not tend, when used

in a proper manner, to health of body and mind, to grace

of manners, and to social enjoyment : all these things are

conceded. Eut it is objected to, on the same ground as

horse-racing and theatrical entertainments ; that we are to

look at amusements as they are, and not as they might be.

Horse-races might be so managed as not to involve cruelty,

gambling, drunkenness, and other vices. And so might

theatres. And if serious and intelligent persons undertook

to patronize these, in order to regulate them, perhaps they

would be somewhat raised from the depths to which they

have sunk. But such persons believe that, with the weak

sense of moral obligation existing in the mass of society, and

the imperfect ideas mankind have of the proper use of amuse-

ments, and the little self-control which men or women or

children practice, these will not, in fact, be thus regulated.

And they believe dancing to be liable to the same objec-

tions. As this recreation is actually conducted, it does not

tend to produce health of body or mind, but dii-ectly the

contrary. If young and old went out to dance together

in open air, as the French peasants do, it would be a very

different sort of anusement from that which often is

witnessed in a room furnished with many lights and filled

with guests, both expending the healthful part of the

atmosphere, where the young collect, in their tightest

dresses, to protract for several hours a kind of physical ex-


ertion whicli is not habitual to them. During this process,

the blood is made to circulate more swiftly than usual, in

circumstances where it is less perfectly oxygenized than

health requires ; the pores of the skin are excited by heat

and exercise ; the stomach is loaded with indigestible arti-

cles, and the quiet, needful to digestion, withheld ; the di-

version is protracted beyond the usual hour for repose ; and

then, when the skin is made the most highly susceptible

to damps and miasms, the company pass from a warm room

to the cold night-air. It is probable that no single amuse-

ment can be pointed out combining so many injurious

particulars as this, which is so often defended as a health-

ful one. Even if parepts, who train their children to dance,

can keep them from public balls, (which is seldom the case,)

dancing, as ordinarily conducted in private parlors, in most

cases is subject to nearly all the same mischievous

iafluences.

The spirit of Christ is that of self-denying benevolence

;

and his great aim, by his teachings and example, was to

train his followers to avoid all that should lead to siq, es-

pecially in regard to the weaker on^s of his family. Yet

he made wine at a wedding, attended a social feast on the

Sabbath,* reproved excess of strictness in Sabbath-keep-

ing generally, and forbade no safe and innocent enjoyment.

In following his example, the rulers of the family, then, wiU

introduce the most highly exciting amusements only in cir-

cumstances where there are such strong principles and hab-

its of self-control that the enjoyment will not involve sin

in the actor or needless temptation to the weak.

The course pursued by om* Puritan ancestors, in the period

succeeding their first perils amid sickness and savages, is an ex-

ample that may safely be practiced at the present day. The

young of both sexes were educated in the higher branches,

in country academies, and very often the closing exercises

* Luke xiv. In reading tliis passage, please notice wlaat kind of guests

are to be invited to the feast tliat Jesua Clirist recommendp.

DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS AND SOCIAL DUTIES. 29]

were theatricals, in whicli the pupils were performers andtheir pastors, elders, and parents, the audience. So, at so-

cial gatherings, the dance was introduced before minister

and wife, with smiling approval. The roaring fires andbroad chimneys provided pure air, and the nine o'clock bell

ended the festivities that gave new vigor and zest to life,

while the dawn of the next day's light saw all at their posts

of duty, with heartier strength and blither spirits.

No indecent or unhealthful costumes offended the eye,

no half-naked dancers of dubious morality were sustained

in a life of dangerous excitement, by the money of Chris-

tian people, for the mere amusement of their night hours.

No shivering drivers were deprived of comfort and sleep,

tp carry home the midnight followers of fashion ; nor wasthe quiet and comfort of servants in hundreds of dwellings

invaded for the mere amusement of their superiors in educa-

tion and advantages. The command "we that are strong, ought

to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please our-

selves," was in those days not reversed. Had the drama and

the dance continued to be regulated by the rules of tempe-

rance, health, and Christian benevolence, as in the days of

our forefathers, they would not have been so generally

banished from the religious world. And the question is

now being discussed, whether they can be so regulated at

the present time as not to violate the laws, either of health

or benevolence.*

In regard to home amusements, card-playing is nowindulged in, in many conscientious families from which it

formerly was excluded, and for these reasons : it is claimed

that this is a quiet home amusement, which unites pleas-

* Fanny Kemble Butler remarked to tlie present writer that she re-

garded theatres wrong, chiefly because of the injury involved to the

actors. Can a Christian mother contribute money to support young wo-

men in a profession from which she would protect her own daughter,

as from degradation, and that, too, simply for the amusement of herself

and family ? Would this be following the self-sacrificing benevolence

of Christ and his apostles ?


antly the aged with the yoimg ; that it is not now employed

in respectable society for gambling, as it formerly was; that

to some young minds it is a peculiarly fascinating game, and

should be first practiced under the parental care, till the ex

citement of novelty is past, thus rendering the danger to

children less, when going into the world ; and, finally, that

habits of self-control in exciting circumstances may and

should be thus cultivated in the safety of home. Many

parents who have taken this com-se with their sons in early

life, believe that it has proved rather a coui-se of safety

than of danger. Still, as there is great diversity of opinion,

among persons of equal worth and intelligence, a mutual

spirit of candor and com'tesy should be practiced. The

sneer at bigotry and narrowness of views, on one side, and'

the uncharitable implication of want of piety, or sense, on

the other, are equally ill-bred and unchristian. Truth on

this subject is best promoted, not by ill-natured crimination

and rebuke, but by calm reason, generous candor, forbear-

ance, and kindness.

There is another species of amusement, which a large

portion of the religious world formerly put under the same

condemnation as the preceding. Tliis is .novel-reading.

The confusion and difference of opinion on this subject

have arisen from a want of clear and definite distinctions.

Now, as it is impossible to define what are novels and what

are not, so as to include one class of fictitious writings and

exclude every other, it is impossible to lay down any rule

respecting them. The discussion, in fact, turns on the use

of those works of imagination which belong to the class of

fictitious narratives. That this species of reading is not

only lawful but necessary and useful, is settled by divine

examples, in the parables and allegories of Scripture. Of

course, the question must be, what kind of fabulous writ-

ings must be avoided, and what allowed.

In deciding this, no specific rules can be given ; but it

must be a matter to be regulated by the nature and circum-


stances of each case. No works of fiction which tend to

throw the allurements of taste and genius around vice andcrime should ever be tolerated ; and all that tend to give

false views of life and duty should also be banished. Ofthose which are written for mere amusement, presenting

scenes and events that are interesting and exciting and hav-

ing no bad moral influence, much must depend on the char-

acter and circumstances of the reader. Some minds are

torpid and phlegmatic, and need to have the imagination

stimulated : such would be benefited by this kind of

reading. Others have quick and active imaginations, and

would be as much injured by excess. Some persons are

often so engaged in absorbing interests, that any thing in

nocent, which will for a short time draw off the mind, is of

the natm-e of a medicine ; and, in such cases, this kind of

reading is useful.

There is need, also, that some men should keep a super-

vision of the current literature of the day, as guardians, to

warn others of danger. Eor this purpose, it is more suitable

for editors, clergymen, and teachers to read indiscrimi-

nately, than for any other class of persons ; for they are the

guardians of the public weal in matters of literature, and

should be prepared to advise parents and young persons of

the evils in one direction and the good in another. In do-

ing this, however, they are bound to go on the same princi-

ples which regulate physicians, when they visit infected dis-

tricts—using every precaution to prevent injury to them-

selves ; having as little to do with pernicious exposures, as

a benevolent regard to others will allow; and faithfully

employing all the knowledge and opportunities thus gained

for warning and preserving others. There is much danger,

in taking this course, that men will seek the excitement of

the imagination for the mere pleasure it affords, under the

plea of preparing to serve the public, when this is neither

the aim nor the result.

In regard^ to the use of such works by the young, as a


general rule, they ought not to be allowed to any except

those of a dull and phlegmatic temperament, until the solid

parts of education are seciu'ed and a taste for more elevated

reading is acquired. If these stimulating condiments in

literature be freely used in youth, all relish for more solid

reading will in a majority of cases be destroyed. If parents

succeed in securing habits of cheerful and implicit obedi-

ence, it will be vei'y easy to regulate this matter, by prohib-

iting the reading of any story-book, until the consent of the

parent is obtained.

The most successful mode of forming a taste for suitable

reading, is for parents to select interesting works of history

and travels, with maps and pictm-es suited to the age and

attainments of the young, and spend an hour or two each

day or evening, in aiming to make truth as interesting as

fiction. Whoever has once tried this method will find that

the uninjured mind of childhood is better satisfied with

what they know is true, when wisely presented, than with

the most exciting novels, which they know are false.

Perhaps there has been some just ground of objection to

the com'se often pursued by parents in neglecting to pro-

vide suitable and agreeable substitutes for the amusements

denied. But there is a great abundance of safe, healthful,

and delightful recreations, which all parents may secure for

their childi-en. Some of these will here be pointed out.

One of the most useful and important, is the cultivation

of flowers and fruits. This, especially for the daughters

of a family, is greatly promotive of health and amusement.

It is with the hope that many young ladies, whose habits

are now so formed that they can never be induced to a

course of active domestic exercise so long as their parents

are able to hire domestic service, may yet be led to an em-

ployment which vsill tend to secure health and vigor of

constitution, that much space will be given in the second

volimie of this work, to directions for the cultivation of

fruits and flowers.


It would be a most desirable improvement, if all schoolsfor young wAmen could be furnished with suitable groundsand instruments for the cultivation of fruits and flowers,

and every inducement offered to engage the pupils in this

pursuit. Wo father, who wishes to have his daughters

grow up to be healthful women, can take a surer method to

seeui-e this end. Let him set apart a portion of his groundfor fruits and flowers, and see that the soil is well prepared

and dug over, and all the rest may be committed to the care

of tlie children. These woiild need to be provided with a

light hoe and rake, a dibble or garden trowel, a watering-

pot, and means and opportunities for securing seeds, roots,

bulbs, buds, and grafts, all which might be done at a trifling

expense. Then, with proper encouragement and by the

• aid of a few intelligible and practical directions, every

man who has even half an acre could secure a small Edenaround his premises.

In pursuing this amusement children can also be led to

acquire many useful habits. Early rising would, in manycases, be thus secured ; and if they were required to keep

their walks and borders free fi'om weeds and rubbish, habits

of order and neatness would be induced. Benevolent and

social feelings could also be cultivated, by influencing

children to share their fruits and flowers with friends and

neighbors, as well as to distribute roots and seeds to those

who have not the means of procuring them. A woman or

a child, by giving seeds or slips or roots to a washerwoman,

or a farmer's boy, thus inciting them to love and cultivate

fruits and flowers, awakens a new and refining source of

enjoyment in minds which have few resources more elevat-

ed than mere physical enjoyments. Our Saviour directs

us in making feasts, to call, not the rich who can recom-

pense again, but the poor who can make no returns. So

children shoxild be taught to dispense their little treasures

not alone to companions and friends, who will probably

return similar favors ; but to those who have no means of


making any return. If the rich, who acquire a love for

the enjoyments of taste and have the means to gratify it,

would aim to extend among the poor the cheap and simple

enjoyment of fruits and flowers, our country would soon

literally " blossom as the rose."

If the ladies of a neighborhood would unite small con-

tributions, and send a list of flower-seeds and roots to some

respectable and honest florist, who would not be likely to

turn them off with trash, they could divide these among

themselves and their poor neighbors, so as to secure an

abundant variety at a very small expense. A bag of

flower-seeds, which can be obtained at wholesale for four

cents, would abundantly supply a whole neighborhood;

and by the gatheiing of seeds in the autumn, could be

perpetuated.

Another very elevating and delightful recreation for the

young is found in music. Here the writer would protest

against the practice common in many families, of having

the daughters learn to play on the piano whether they

have a taste and an ear for music, or not. A young lady

who does not sing well, and has no great fondness for music,

does nothing but waste time, money, and patience in

learning to play on the piano. But all children can betaught to sing in early childhood, if the scientific mode of

teaching music in schools could be more widely intro-

.

duced, as it is in Prussia, Germany, and Switzerland.

Then young childi-en could read and sing music as easily

as they can read language ; and might take any tune,

dividing themselves into bands, and sing off at sight the

endless variety of music which is prepared^ And if

parents of wealth would take pains to have teachers quali-

fied for the purpose, who should teach all the yoimg chil-

dren in the community, much would be done for the happi-

ness and elevation of the rising generation. This is an

element of education which we are glad to know is, year byyear, more extensively and carefully cultivated ; and it is


not only a means of culture, but also an amusement, whichchildren relish in the highest degree ; and wliich they canenjoy at home, in the fields, and ia visits abroad.Another domestic amusement is the collecting of shells,

plants, and specunens in geology and mineralogy, for theformation of cabinets. If intelligent parents would pro-cure the simpler works which have been prepared for theyoung, and study them with their children, a taste for suchrecreations would soon be developed. The writer has seenyoung boys, of eight and ten years of age, gathering andcleaning shells from rivers, and / collecting plants andmiaeralogical specimens, with a delight bordering on ecsta-

sy;and there are few, if any, who by proper influences

would not find this a source of ceaseless delight andimprovement.

Another resource for family diversion is to be found in

the various games played by children, and in which the

joining of older members of the family is always a great

advantage to both parties, especially those in the open air.

All medical men unite in declaring that nothing is morebeneficial to health than hearty laughter ; and surely our

benevolent Creator would not have provided risibles, and

made it a source of health and enjoyment to use them, if

it were a sin so to do. There has been a tendency to

asceticism, on this subject, which needs to be removed.

Such commands as forbid foolish laughing and jesting,

"which are not convenient" and which forbid all idle

words and vain conversation, can not apply to any thing ex-

cept what is foolish, vain, and useless. But jokes, laughter,

and sports, when used in such a degree as tends only to pro-

mote health and happiness, are neither vain, foolish, nor

" not convenient." It is the excess of these things, and not

the moderate use of them, which Scripture forbids. The

prevailing temper of the mind should be serious, yet

cheerful ; and there are times when relaxation and laughter

are not only proper but necessary and right for all. There


is nothing better for this end than that parents and older

persons should join in the sports of childhood. Matm-e

minds can always make such diversions more entertaining

to children, and can exert a healthful moral influence over

theii minds ; and at the same time can gain exercise and

amusement for themselves. How lamentable that so manyfathers, who could be thus useful and happy vrith. theu"

children, throw away such opportunities, and wear out

soul and body in the pm-suit of gain or fame !

Another resom'ce for childreq is the exercise of mechan-

ical skill. Fathers, by providing tools for their boys, and

showing them how to make wheelbarrows, carts, sleds, and

various other articles, contribute both to the physical, moral

and social improvement of their children. And in regard

to little daughters, much more can be done in this way than

many would imagme. The writer, blessed with the exam-

ple of a most ingenious and industrious mother, had not only

learned before the age of twelve to make dolls, of various

sorts and sizes, but to cut and fit and sew every article that

belongs to a doll's wardrobe. This, which was dona by the

child for mere amusement, secured such a faciKty in me-

chanical pursuits, that, ever afterward, the cutting and

fitting of any article of dress, for either sex, was accom-

plished with entire ease.

When a little girl begins to sew, her mother can promise

her a small bed and jpillow, as soon as she has sewed a

patch quilt for them ; and then a bedstead, as soon as she

has sewed the sheets and cases for pillows; and then a

large doll to dress, as soon as she has made the under-gar.

ments ; and thus go on till the whole contents of the baby-

house are earned by the needle and skill of its little ovraer.

Thus the task of learning to sew will become a pleasure ; and

every new toy will be earned by useful exertion. A little

girl can be taught, by the aid of patterns prepared for the

purpose, to cut and fit all articles necessary for her doll.

She can also be provided with a little wash-tub and irons.


and thus keep in proper order a complete miniature domes-

tic establishment.

Besides these recreations, there are the enjoyments

secured in walking, riding, visiting, and many other em-

ployments which need not be recounted. Children, if

trained to be healthful and indiistrious, will never fail to

discover resources of amusement ; while their guardians

should lend their aid to guide and restrain them from excess.

There is need' of a very great change of opinion and

practice in this nation in regard to the subject of social and

domestic duties. Many sensible and conscientious menspend all their time abroad in business; except perhaps an

hour or so at night, when they are so fatigued as to be

unfitted for any social or intellectual enjoyment. And some

of the most conscientious men in the country will add to their

professional business public or benevolent enterprises, which

demand time, effort, and money ; and then excuse them-

selves for neglecting all care of their children, and efforts

for their own intellectual improvement, or for the improve-

ment of their families, by the plea that they have no time

for it.

All this arises from the want of correct notions of the

binding obligation of our social and domestic duties. The

main, object of life is not to secure the various gratifications

of appetite or taste, but to form such a character, for our-

selves and others, as will secure the greatest amount of

present and future happiness. It is of far more conse-

quence, then, that parents should be intelligent, social,

affectionate, and agreeable at home and to their friends,

than that they should earn money enough to live in a large

house and have handsome fm-niture. It is far more need-

ful for children that a father should attend to the formation

of their character and habits, and aid in developing their

social, intellectual, and moral nature, than it is that he

should eai-h money to furnish them with handsome clothes

and a variety of tempting food.


It will be wise for those parents who find little time to

attend to their children, or to seek amusement and enjoy-

ment in the domestic and social circle, because their time

is so much occupied with public cares or benevolent objects,

to inquire whether their first duty is not to train up their

own families to be useful members of society. A man whoneglects the Uxind and morals of his children, to take cai-e

of the public, is in great danger of coming under a similar

condemnation to that of him who, neglecting to provide

for his own household, has " denied the faith, and is worse

than an infidel."

There are husbands and fathers who conscientiously

subtract time from their business to spend at home, in

readingwith their wives and children, and in domestic amuse-

ments which at once refresh and improve. The children

of such parents will grow up with a love of home and

kindred which will be the greatest safeguard against future

temptations, as well as the purest source of earthly

enjoyment.

There are families, also, who make it a definite object to

keep up family attachments, after the children are scattered

abroad ; and, in some cases, secure the means for doing this

by saving money which would otherwise have been spent

for superfluities of food or dress. Some families have

adopted, for this end, a practice which, if widely imitated,

would be productive of much enjoyment. The method is

this : On the first day of each month, some member of the

family, at each extreme point of dispersion, takes a folio

sheet, and fills a part of a page. This i^sealed and mailed

to the next family, who read it, add another contribution,

and then mail it to the next. Thus the family circular,

once a month, goes from each extreme to all the membersof a widely-dispersed family, and each member becomes a

sharer in the joys, sorrows, plans, and pursuits of all the

rest. At the same time, frequent family meetings are

sought ; and the expense thus incurred is cheerfully met by

DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS Aim SOCIAL DUTIES. 801

retrenchments in other directions. The sacrifice of someunnecessary physical indulgence will often purchase manysocial and domestic enjoyments, a thousand times moreelevating and delightful than the retrenched luxury.

There is no social duty which the Supreme Law-givei

more strenuously urges than hospitality and kindness to

strangers, who are classed with the widow and the fatherless

as the special objects of Divine tenderness. There are some

reasons why this duty peculiarly demands attention from

the American people.

Reverses of fortune, in this land, are so frequent and un-

expected, and the habits of the people are so migratory, that

there are very many in every part of the coimtry who, hav-

ing seen all their temporal plans and hopes crushed, are nowpining among strangers, bereft of wonted comforts, without

friends, and without the sympathy and society so needful to

wounded spirits. Such, too frequently, sojourn long and

lonely, with no comforter but TTim who "knoweth the

heart of a stranger."

Whenever, therefore, new-comers enter a community,

inquiry should immediately be made as to whether they have

friends or associates, to render sympathy and kind atten-

tions ; and, when there is any need for it, the ministries of

Mnd neighborliness should immediately be offered. And it

should be remembered that the first days of a stranger's

sojourn are the most dreary, and that civility and kindness

are doubled in value by being offered at an early period.

In social gatherings the claims of the stranger are too

^pt to be forgotten ; especially in cases where there are no

peculiar attractions of personal appearance, or talents, or

high standing. Such a one should be treated with attention,

heocmse he is a stranger ; and when communities learn to

act more from principle, and less from selfish impulse, on

this subject, the sacred claims of the stranger will be less

frequently forgotten.

The most agreeable hospitality to visitors who become


inmates of a family, is that which puts them entirely at

ease. This can never be the case where the guest per-

ceives that the order of family arrangement is essentially

altered, and that time, comfort, and convenience are sacri-

ficed for his accommodation.

Offering the best to visitors, showing a polite regard to

every wish expressed, and giving precedence to them, in all

mattei'S of comfort and convenience, can be easily combined

with the easy freedom which makes the stranger feel at

home; and this is the perfection of hospitable entertain-

ment.

XXIV.

OABB OF THE AGED.

One of the most interesting and instructive, illustrations

of the design of.our Creator, in the institution of the familystate, is the preservation of the aged after their faculties

decay and usefulness in ordinary modes seems to be ended.By most persons this period of infirmities and uselessness is

anticipated with apprehension, especially in the case of

those who have lived an active, useful life, giving largely of

service to others, and dependent for most resources of en-

joyment on their own energies.

To lose the resources of sight or hearing, to become fee-

ble in body, so as to depend on the ministries of others, andfinally to gradually decay in mental force and intelligence,

to many seems far worse than death. Multitudes have

prayed to be taken from this life when their usefulness is

thus ended.

But a true view of the design of the family state, and of

the ministry of the aged and helpless ia carrying out this

design, would greatly lessen such apprehensions, and might

be made a source of pure and elevated enjoyment.

The Christian virtues of patience with the unreasonable,

of self-denying labor for the weak, and of sympathy with

the afl^cted, are 4ependent, to a great degree, on cultivation

and habit, and these can be gained only in circumstances

demanding the daily exercise of these, graces. In this as-

pect, continued life in the aged and infirm should be re-

garded as a blessing and privilege to a family, especially to

the young, and the cultivation of the graces that are de-


manded by that relation should be made a definite and in-

teresting part of their education. A few of the methods to

be attempted for this end will be suggested.

In the first place, the object for which the aged are pre-

served ia life, when in many cases they would rejoice to de-

part, should be definitely kept in recollection, and a sense

of gratitude and obligation be cultivated. They should be

looked up to and treated as ministers sustained by our

Heavenly Father iu a painful experience, expressly for the

good of those arourid them. This appreciation of their

ministry and usefulness will greatly lessen their trials and

impart consolation. If ia hours of weariness and infirmity

they wonder why they are kept in a useless and helpless

state to burden others around, they should be assured that

they are not useless ; and this not only by word, but, better

stUl, by the manifestation of those virtues which such op-

portimities alone can secure.

Another mode of cheering the aged is to engage them in

the domestic games and sports which unite the old and

the young ia amusement. Many a weary hour may thus

be enlivened for the benefit of all concerned. And here

will often occur opportunities of self-denying benevolence

in relinquishing personal pursuits and gratification thus to

promote the enjoyment of the infirm and dependent. Head-

ing aloud is often a great soiu"ce of enjoyment to those who

by age are deprived of reading for themselves. So the effort

to gather news of the neighborhood and impart it, is an-

other mode of relieving those deprived of social gatherings.

There is no period ia life when those courtesies of good

breeding which recognize the relations of superior and in-

ferior should be more carefully cherished than when there

is need of showing them toward those of advancing age

To those who have controlled a household, and still more to

those who in public life have been honored and admired,

the decay of mental powers is peculiarly trying, and every

effort should be made to lessen the trial by courteous atten-

CABU OF THE AGED. 305

tion to their opinions, and by avoiding all attempts to con-

trovert them, or to make evident any weakness or fallacy iu

their conversation.

In regard to the decay of bodily or mental faculties, muchmore can be done to prevent or retard them than is gen-

rally supposed, and some methods for this end which

have been gained by observation or experience wiU be pre-

sented.

As the exercise of all our faculties tends to increase their

power, unless it be carried to excess, it is very important

that the aged should be provided with useful employment,

suited to their strength and capacity. Nothing hastens de-

cay so fast as to remove the stimulus of useful activity. It

should become a study with those who have the care of the

aged to interest them' in some useful pursuit, and to con-

vince them that they are. ia some measure actively con-

tributing to the general welfare. In the country and in

families where the larger part of the domestic labor is done

without servants, it is very easy to keep up an interest in

domestic industrial employments. The tending of a small

garden in summer—the preparation of fuel and food, the

mending of household utensils—these and many other occu-

pations of the hands will keep alive activity and interest, in a

man ; while for women there are still more varied resources.

There is nothing that so soon hastens decay and lends

acerbity to age as giving up all business and responsibility,

and every mode possible should be devised to prevent this

result.

As age advances, all the bodily functions move more

slowly, and consequently the generation of animal heat,

by the union of oxygen and carbon in the capillaries, is in

smaller proportion than in the midday of life. For this

reason some practices, safe for the vigorous, must be relin-

quished by the aged ; and one of these is the use of the

cold bath. It has often been the case that rheumatism has

been caused by neglect of this caution. More than or-


dinary care should be taken to preserve animal lieat in

the agedj especially in the hands and the feet.

In many families will be found an aged brother, or sis-

ter, or other relative who has no home, and no claim to a

refuge in the family circle but that of kindred. Some-

times they are poor and homeless, for want of a faculty for

self-supporting business ; and sometimes they have peculi-

arities of person or disposition which render their society

undesirable. These are cases where the pitying tenderness

of the Saviour should be remembered, and for his sake

patient kindness and tender care be given, and he will

graciously accept it as an offering of love and duty to him-

self. " Inasmuch as ye have done it to the least of these

my brethren, ye have done it to me."

It is sometimes the case that even parents in old age

have had occasion to say with the forsaken King Lear,

"How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thank-

less child !" It is right training in early life alone that

will save from this.

In the opening of China and the probable influx of its

people, there is one cause for congratulation to a nation

that is failing in the virtue of reverence. The Chinese are

distinguished above all other nations for their respect for

the aged, and especially for their reverence for aged pa-

rents and conformity to their authority, even to the last.

This virtue is cultivated to a degree that is remarkable,

and has produced singular and favorable results on the

national character, which it is hoped may be imparted to

the land to which they are flocking in such multitudes.

For with all their peculiarities of pagan philosophy and

their oriental eccentricities of custom and practical life,

they are everywhere renowned for their uniform and ele-

gant courtesy—a most commendable virtue, and one ari-

sing from habitual deference to the aged more than from

any other source.

XXY.

THE OAEE OF SERVANTS.

AiiTHOTJGH in earlier ages tlie highest born, wealtliiest,

and proudest ladies were skilled in the simple labors of the

household, the advance of society toward luxury has

changed all that in lands of aristocracy and classes, and at

the present time America is the only country where there

is a class of women who may be described as ladies who do

their own work. By a lady we mean a woman of educa-

tion, cultivation, and refinement, of liberal tastes and ideas,

who, without any very material additions or changes, would

be recognized as a lady ia any circle of the Old World or

the Ifew.

The existence of such a class is a fact peculiar to Ameri-

can society, a plain result of the new principles iavolved in

the doctrine of universal equality.

When *he colonists first came to this country, of however

mixed ingredients their ranks might have been composed,

and however imbued with the spirit of feudal and aristo-

cratic ideas, the discipline of the wilderness soon brought

them to a democratic level ; the gentleman felledthe wood

for his log-cabin side by side with the plowman, and

thews and sinews rose in the market. " A man was deemed

honorable in proportion as he lifted his hand upon the high

trees of the forest." So iq the interior domestic circle.

Mistress and maid, living in a log-cabin together, became

companions, and sometimes the maid, as the one well-trained

in domestic labor, took precedence of the mistress. It also


became natural and unavoidable that children should begin

to work as early as they were capable of it.

The result was a generation of intelligent people brought

up to labor from necessity, but devoting to the problem of la-

bor the acuteness of a disciplined brain. The mistress, out-

done in sinews and muscles by her maid, kept her superior-

ity by skill and contrivance. If she could not lift a pail of

water, she could invent methods which made lifting the

paU unnecessary,—if she could not take a hundred steps

without weariness, she could make twenty answer the pur-

pose of a hundred.

Slavery, it is true, was to some extent introduced into

New-England, but it never suited the genius of the people,

never struck deep root or spread so as to choke the good

seed of self-helpfulness. Many were opposed to it from

conscientious principle—many from far-sighted thrift,

and from a love of thoroughness and well-doing which de-

spised the rude, unskilled work of barbarians. People, hav-

ing'once felt the thorough neatness and beauty of execution

which came of free, educated, and thoughtful labor, could

not tolerate the climisiness of slavery.

Thus it came to pass that for many years the rural popu-

lation of New-England, as a general rule, did their ownwork, both out-doors and in. If there were a black manor black woman or bound girl, they were emphatically only

the helps, following humbly the steps of master and mis-

tress, and used by them as instruments of lightening cer-

tain portions of their toil. The master and mistress, with

their children, were the head workers.

Great merriment has been excited in the old country

because, years ago, the first English travelers found that

the class of persons by them denominated servants, were in

America denominated help, or helpers. But the term was

the very best exponent of the state of society. There

were few servants, in the European sense of the

word ; there was a society of educated workers, where all

TBE CASE OF SEH VANTS. 309

were practically equal, and where, if there was a deficiency

in one family and an excess in another, a helper, not a ser-

vant in the European sense, was hired. Mrs. Brown, whohas several sons and no daughters, enters into agreement

with Mrs. Jones, who has several daughters and no sons.

She borrows a daughter, and pays her good wages to help

in her domestic toil, and sends a son to help the labors of

Mr. Jones. These two young people go into the families

in which they are to be employed in all respects as equals

and companions, and so the work of the community is

equalized. Hence arose, and for many years continued, a

state of society more nearly solving than any other ever

did the problem of combining the highest culture of the

mind with the highest culture of the muscles and the phy-

sical faculties.

Then were to be seen families of daughters, handsome,

strong women, rising each day to their in-door work with

cheerful alertness—one to sweep the room, another to makethe fire, while a third prepared the breakfast for the father

and brothers who were going out to manly labor : and they

chatted meanwhile of books, studies, embroidery ; discussed

the last new poem, or some historical topic started by graver

reading, or perhaps a rural ball that was to come off next

week. They spun with the book tied to the distaff; they

wove ; they did all manner of fine needle-work ; they made

lace, painted flowers, and, in short, in the boundless con-

sciousness of activity, invention, and perfect health, set

themselves to any work they had ever read or thought of.

A bride in those days was married with sheets and table-

cloths of her own weaving, with counterpanes and toilet-

covers wrought in divers embroidery by her own and her sis-

ters' hands. The amount of fancy-work done in our days

by girls who have nothing else to do, will not equal what

was done by these who performed, besides, among them,

the whole work of the family.

In those former days most women were in good health,


debility and disease being the exception. Then, too, was

seen the economy of daylight and its pleasures. They

were used to early rising, and would not lie in bed, if they

could. Long years of practice made them familiar with

the shortest, neatest, most expeditious method of doing

every household office, so that really for the greater part

of the time in the house there seemed, to a looker-on, to

be nothing to do. They rose in the morning and dis-

patched husband, father, and brothers to the farm or wood-

lot ; went sociably about, chatting with each other, skimmed

the milk, made the butter, and turned the cheeses. The

forenoon was long ; ten to one, all the so-called morning

work over, they had leisure for an hour's sewing or reading

before it was time to start the dinn-er preparations. By two

o'clock the house-work was done, and they had the long

afternoon for books, needle-work, or drawing—for perhaps

there was one with a gift at her pencil. Perhaps one read

aloud while others sewed, and managed in that way to

keep up a great deal of reading.

It is said that women who have been accustomed to do-

ing their own work become hard mistresses. They are

certainly more sure of the ground they stand on—they are

less open to imposition—they can speak and act in their own'

houses more as those " having authority," and therefore are

less afraid to exact what is justly their due, and less willing

to endure impertinence and unfaithfulness. Their general

error lies in expecting that any servant ever will do as well

for them as they will do for themselves, and that an un-

trained, undisciplined human being ever can do house-work,

or any other work, with the neatness and perfection that a

person of trained intelligence can.

It has been remarked in our armies that the men of cul-

tivation, though bred in delicate and refined spheres, can bear

up under the hardships of camp-life better and longer than

rough laborers. The reason is, that an educated mind

knows how to use and save its body, to work it and spare

THE CARE OF SERVANTS. 311

it, as an uneducated mind can not; and so the college-bred

youth brings Mmself safely through fatigues which kill the

unreflective laborer.

Cultivated, intelligent women, who are brought up to do

the work of their own families, are labor-saving institutions.

They make the head save the wear of the muscles. Byforethought, contrivance, system, and arrangement they

lessen the amount to be done, and do it with less expense

of time and strength than others. The old New-England

motto, Qet your work done up in the forenoon, applied to an

amount of work which would keep a common Irish servant

toiling from daylight to sunset.

A lady living in one of our obscure New-England towns,

where there were no servants .to be hired, at last, by sending

to a distant city, succeeded in procuring a raw Irish maid-of-

all-work, a creature of immense bone and muscle, but of

heavy, unawakened brain. In one fortnight she established

such a reign of Chaos and old Night in the kitchen and

through the house that her mistress, a delicate woman, en-

cumbered with the care of young children, began seriously

to think that slie made more work each day than she per-

formed, and dismissed her. What was now to be done ?

Fortunately, the daughter of a neighboring farmer was go-

ing to be married in six months, and wanted a little ready

money for her trousseau. The lady was informed that

Miss So-and-so would come to her, not as a servant, but

aa hired " help." She was fain to accept any help with

gladaess.

Forthwith came into the family-circle a tall, well-dressed

young person, grave, unobtrusive, self-respecting, yet not in

the least presuming, who sat at the family table and ob-

served all its decorums with the modest self-possession of a

lady. The new-comer took a survey of the labors of a

family of ten members, including four or five young chil-

dren, and, looking, seemed at once to throw them into sys-

tem ; matured her plans, arranged her hours of washing,


ironing, baking, and cleaning; rose early, moved deftly;

and in a single day the slatternly and littered kitchen

assumed that neat, orderly appearance that so often strikes

one in New-England farm-houses. The work seemed to he

,

all gone. Every thing was nicely washed, brightened, put

in place, and staid in place ; the floors, when cleaned, re-

mained clean ; the work was always done, and not doing

;

ani every afternoon the young lady sat neatly dressed in

her own apartment, either quietly writing letters to her be-

trothed, or sewing on her bridal outfit. Such is the result

of employing those who have been brought up to do their

own work. That tall, fine-looking girl, for aught we know,

may yet be mistress of a fine house on Fifth Avenue ; and

if she is, she will, we fear, prove rather an exacting mis-

tress to Irish Bridget ; but she will never be threatened byher cook and chambermaid, after the first one or two have

tried the experiment.

Those remarkable women of old were made by circum-

stances. There were, comparatively speaking, no servants

to be had, and so children were trained to habits of indus-

try and mechanical adroitness from the cradle, and every

household process was reduced to the very minimum of labor.

Every step required in a process was counted, every move-

ment calculated ; and she who took ten steps, when one

would do, lost her reputation for " faculty." Certainly su^h

an early drill was of use in developing the health and the

bodily powers, as well as in giving precision to the practi-

cal mental faculties. All household economies were ar-

ranged with equal niceness in those thoughtful minds. Atrained housekeeper knew just how many sticks of hickory

of a certain size were required to heat her oven, and howmany of each different kind of wood. She knew by a sort

of intuition just what kinds of food would yield the most

palatable nutriment with the least outlay of accessories in

cooking. She knew to a minute the time when each arti-

cle must go into and be withdrawn from her oven ; and if

TBE VARB OF SERVANTS. 313

she could only lie in lier chamber and direct, she could

guide an iatelligent child through the processes with

mathematical certainty.

It is impossible, however, that any thing but early train-

ing and long experience can produce these results, and it

is earnestly to be wished that the grandmothers of New-England had written down their experiences for our chil-

dren ; they would have been a mine of maxims and tradi-

tions better than any other " traditions of the elders " which

we know of.

In this country, our democratic institutions have removed

the superincumbent pressure which in the Old "World eon-

fines the servants to a regular orbit. They come here feel

ing that this is somehow a land of liberty, and with very

dim and confused notions of what liberty is. They are

very extensively the raw, untrained Irish 'peasantry, and the

wonder is, that, with all the unreasoning heats and preju-

dices of the Celtic blood, all the necessary ignorance and

rawness, there should be the measure of comfort and suc-

cess there is in our domestic arrangements.

But, as long as things are so, there wiQ be constant

changes and interruptions in every domestic establishment,

and constantly recurring interregnums when the mistress

must put her own hand to the work, whether the hand be

a trained or an untrained one. As matters now are, the

young housekeeper takes life a,t the hardest. She has very

little strength,^-no experience to teach her how to save her

strength. She knows nothing experinaentally of the sim-

plest processes necessary to keep her family comfortably

fed and clothed ; and she has a way of looking at all these

things which makes them particularly hard and distasteful

to her. She does not escape being obliged to do house-work

at intervals, but she does it in a weak, blundering, confused

way, that makes it twice as hard and disagreeable as it

need be.

Now if every young wbman learned to do house-work,

314 THE EOUSEKEEPER'a MANUAL.

and cultivated her practical faculties in early life, she

would, in the first place, be much more likely to keep her

servants, and, in the second place, if she lost them tempo-

rarily, would avoid all that wear and tear of the nervous

system which comes from constant ill-success in those de-

partments on which family health and temper mainly

depend. This is one of the peculiarities of our American

life, which require a peculiar training. Why not face it

sensibly ?

Our land is now full of motorpathic institutions to which

women are sent at a great expense to have hired operators

stretch and exercise their inactive muscles. They lie for

hours to have their feet twigged, their arms flexed, and all

the different muscles of the body worked for them, because

they are so flaccid and torpid that the powers of life do not

go on. Would it not be quite as cheerful, and a less expen-

sive process, if young girls frorn early life developed the

muscles in sweeping, dustmg, starching, ironing, and all

the multiplied domestic processes which our grandmothers

knew of ? A woman who did all these, and diversifled the

intervals with spinning on the great and little wheel, did

not need the gymnastics of Dio Lewis or of the Swedish

Movement Cure, which really are a necessity now. Does it

not seem poor economy to pay servants for letting our

muscles grow feeble, and then to pay operators to exercise

them for us ? I will venture to say that our grandmothers

in a week went over every Inovement that any gymnast

has invented, and went over them to some productive

purpose too.

The flrst business of a housekeeper in America is that of

a teacher. She can have a good table only by having prac-

tical knowledge, and tact in imparting it. If she under-

stands her business practically and experimentally, her eye

detects at once the weak spot ; it requires only a little tact,

some patience, some clearness in giving directions, and all

comes right.

TUB CARE OF SERVANTS. 315

If we carry a w'atch to a watchmaker, and undertake to

show him how to regulate the machinery, he laughs andgoes on his own way ; but if a brother-machinist makessuggestions, he listens respectfully. So, when a womanwho knows nothing of woman's work undertakes to instruct

one who knows more than she does, she makes no impres-

sion ; but a woman who has been trained experimentally,

and shows she imderstands the matter thoroughly, is listened

to with respect.

Let a woman make her own bread for one month, and,

simple as the process seems, it will take as long as that to

get a thorough knowledge of all the possibilities in the

case; but after that, she will be able to command good

bread by the aid of all sorts of servants ; in other words, will

be a thoroughly prepared teacher.'

Although bread-making seems a simple process, it yet re-

quires delicate care and watchfulness. There are fifty ways

to spoil good bread ; there are a hundred little things to be

considered and allowed for, that require accurate observa-

tion and experience. The same process that will raise good

bread in cold weather will make sour bread in the heat of

summer; different qualities of flour require variations in

treatment, as also different sorts and conditions of yeast

;

and when all is done, the bakiug presents another series of

possibilities which require exact attention. ,

A well-trained mind, accustomed to reflect, analyze, and

generalize, has an advantage over uncultured minds even of

double experience. Poor as your cook is, she now knows

more of her business than you do. After a very brief period

of attention and experiment, you will not only know more

than she does, but you will conviace her that you do, which

is quite as much to the purpose.

In the same manner, lessons must be given on the

washing of silver and the makiug of beds. Good servants

do not often come to us ; they must be made by patience

and training ; and if a girl has a good disposition and a


reasonable degree of handiness, and the housekeeper under-

stands her profession, a good servant may 1)6 made out of

an indifferent one. Some of the best girls, have been those

who came directly from the ship, with no preparation but

docility and some natural quickness. The hardest cases to

be managed are not of those who have been taught nothing,

but of those who have been taught wrongly—who come

self-opinionated, with ways which are distasteful, and con-

trary to the genius of one's housekeeping. Such require

that their mistress shall understand at least so much of the

actual conduct of affairs as to prove to the servant that

there are better ways than those in which she has been

trained.

So much has been said of the higher sphere of woman,

and so much has been done to find some better Work for

her that, insensibly, almost every body begins to feel that it

is rather degradiag for a woman in good society to be much

tied down to family affairs ; especially since in these Wo-man's Eights Conventions there is so much dissatisfaction

expressed at those who would confine her ideas to the

kitchen and nursery.

Yet these Woman's Eights Conventions are a protest

against many former absurd, unreasonable ideas—the mere

physical and culinary idea of womanhood as connected only

with puddings and shirt-buttons, the unjust and unequal

burdens which the laws of harsher ages had cast upon the

sex. Many of the women connected with these movements

are as superior in every thing properly womanly as they

are in exceptional talent and culture. There is no manner

of doubt that the sphere of woman is properly to be

enlarged. Every woman has rights as a human being

which belong to no sex, and ought to be as freely conceded

to her as if she were a man,—and first and foremost, the

great right of doing any thing which God and nature evi-

dently have fitted her to excel in. If she be made a natural

orator, like Miss Dickinson, or an astronomer, like Mrs.

TBB CARE OF SERVANTS. 317

Somerville, or" a singer, like Grisi, let not the teclinical rnlea

of womanhood be thrown in the way of her free use of herpowers.

Still, êr conira, there has been a great deal of cmde, dis-

agreeable talk in these conventions, and too great tendency

of the age to make the education of woman anti-domestic.

I b seems as if the world never could advance, except like

ships under a head-wind, tacking and going too far, now in

this direction, and now in the opposite. Our common-school system now rejects sewing from the education of

girls, which very properly used to occupy many hours daily

in school a generation ago. The daughters of laborers and

artisans are put through algebra, geometry, trigonometry,

and the higher mathematics, to the entire neglect of that

learning which belongs distinctively to woman." A girl of-

ten can not keep pace with her class, if she gives any time

to domestic matters ; and accordingly she is excused from

them all during the whole term of her education. The boy

of a family, at an early age, is put to a trade, or the labors of

a farm ; the father becomes impatient of his support, and

requires of him to take care for himself. Hence an in-

terrupted education—^learning coming by snatches in the

winter months or in the intervals of work.

As the result, the young women in some of our country

towns are, in mental culture, much in advance of the males

of the same household ; but with this comes a physical deli-

cacy, the result of an exclusive use of the brain and a

neglect of the muscular system, with great inefficiency in

practical domestic duties. The race of strong, hardy, cheer-

ful girls, that used to grow up in country places, and made

the bright, neat, New-England kitchens of old times—the

girls that could wash, iron, brew, bake, harness a horse and

drive him, no less than braid straw, embroider, draw, paint,

and read innumerable books—this race of women, pride of

olden time, is daily lessening ; and in their stead come the

fragile, easily-fatigued, languid girls of a modern age,


drilled in book-learning, ignorant of common things. Tho

great danger of all this, and of the evils that come from it,

is, that society, by and by, will turn as blindly against female

intellectual culture as it now advocates it, and having

worked disproportionately one way, will work dispropor-

tionately in the opposite direction.

Domestic service is the great problem of life here in Amer-

ica ; the happiness of families, their thrift, well-being, and

comfort, are more affected by this than by any one thing else.

The modem girls, as they have been brought up, can not

perform the labor of their own families as in those simpler,

old-fashioned days ; and what is worse, they have no practical

skill with which to instruct servants, who come to us, as a

class, raw and xmtrained. In the present state of prices,

the board of a domestic costs double her wages, and the

waste shie makes is a more serious matter still.

Many of the domestic evils in America originate in the

fact that, while society here is professedly based on newprinciples which ought to make social life in every respect

different from the life of the Old World, yet these prin-

ciples have never been so thought out and applied as

to give consistency and harmony to our daily relations.

America starts with a political organization based on a

declaration of the primitive freedom and equality of

all men. Every human being, according to this-principle,

stands on the same natural level with every other, and has

the same chance to rise according to the degree of power or

capacity given by the Creator. All our civil institutions

are designed to preserve this equality, as far as possible,

from generation to generation : there is no entailed prop-

erty," there are no hereditary titles, no monopolies, no privi-

leged classes—all are to be as free to rise and fall as the

waves of the sea.

The condition of domestic service, however, still retains

about it something of the influences from feudal times, and

from the near presence of slavery in neighboring States.

THE CAME OF SERVANTS. 319

All English literature of the world describes domestic

service in the old feudal spirit and with the old feudal

langxiage, which regarded the master as belonging to a

privileged class and the servant to an inferior one. Thereis not a play, not a poem, not a novel, not a history, that

does not present this view. The master's rights, like the

rights of kings, were supposed to rest in his being bom in a

superior rank. The good servant was one whc, from child-

hood, had learned " to order himself lowly and reverently

to all his betters." When New-England brought to these

shores the theory of democracy, she brought, in the persons

of the first pilgrims, the habits of thought and of action

formed in aristocratic communities. "Winthrop's Journal,

and all the old records of the earlier colonists, show house-

holds where masters and mistresses stood on the " right di-

vine" of the privileged classes, howsoever they might have

risen up against authorities themselves.

The first consequence of this state of things was a uni-

versal rejection of domestic service in all classes of Ameri-

can-born society. For a generation or two there was, in-

deed, a sort of interchange of family strength,—sons and

daughters engaging in the service of neighboring families,

in default of a sufficient working-force of their own, but

always on conditions of strict equality. The assistant was

to share the table, the family sitting-room, and every honor

and attention that might be claimed by son or daughter.

When families increased in refinement and education so aa

to make these conditions of close intimacy with more un-

cultured neighbors disagreeable, they had to choose between

such intimacies and the performance of their own domestic

toil. No wages could induce a son or daughter of New-

England to take the condition of a servant on terms which

they thought applicable to that of a slave. The slightest

hint of a separate table was resented as an insult ; not to

enter the front door, and not to sit in the front parlor on

state occasions, "wafl bitterly commented on as a personal

indignity.


The well-taiight, self-respecting daughters of farmers,

the class most valuable in domestic service, gradually re-

tired from it. They preferred any other employment, how-

ever laborious. Beyond all doubt, the labors of a well-regu-

lated family are more healthy, more cheerful, more inter-

esting, because less monotonous, than the mechanical toils

of a factory;yet the girls of New-England, with one con-

sent, preferred the factory, and left the whole business of

domestic service to a foreign population ; and they did it

mainly because they would not take positions in families

as an inferior laboring-class by the side of others of their

own age who assumed as their prerogative to live without

labor.

" I can't let you have one of my daughters," said an

energetic matron to her neighbor from the city, who was

seeking for a servant in her summer vacation; "if you

hadn't daughters of your own, may be I would ; but mygirls are not going to work so that your girls may live in

idleness."

It was vain to offer money. " "We don't need your money,

ma'am ; we can support ourselves in other ways,; my girls

can braid straw, and bind shoes, but they are not going to

be slaves to any body."

In the Irish and German servants who took the place of

Americans in families, there was, to begin with, the tradi-

tion of education in favor of a higher class ; but even the

foreign population became more or less infected with the

spirit of democracy. They came to this country with

vague notions of freedom and equality, and in ignorant and

uncultivated people such ideas are often more unreasonable

for being vague. They did not, indeed, claim a seat at the

table and in the parlcSr, but they repudiated many of those

habits of respect and courtesy which belonged to their

former condition, and asserted their own will and way in

the round, unvarnished phrase which they suppose)! to be

their right as republican citizens. Life became a sort of

TSB CAJtB OF SERVANTS. 821

domestic wrangle and struggle between the employers,

who secretly confessed their weakness, but endeavored

openly to assume the air and bearing of authority, and

the employed, who knew their power and insisted on their

jmvileges.

From this cause domestic service in America has had less

of mutual kindliness than in old countries. Its terms have

been so ill-understood and defined that both parties have as-

sumed the defensive ; and a common topic of conversation

in American female society has often been the general ser-

vile war which in one form or another was going on in

their different families—a war as interminable as would be

a struggle between aristocracy and common people, unde-

fined by any bill of rights or constitution, and therefore

opening fields for endless disputes.

In England, the class who go to service are a class, and

service is a profession; the distance between them and their

employers is so marked and defined, and all the customs

and requirements of the position are so perfectly under-

stood, that the master or mistress has no fear of being com-

promised by condescension, and no need of the external voice

or air of authority. The higher up in the social scale one

goes, the more courteous seems to become the intercourse

of master and servant; the more perfect and real the

power, the more is it veiled in outward expression—com-

mands are phrased as requests, and gentleness of voice and

manner covers an authority which no one would think of

offending without trembling.

But in America all is undefined. In the first place,

there is no class who mean to make domestic service a pro-

fession to live and die in. It is universally an expedient, a

stepping-stone to something higher;your best servants al-

ways have some thing else in view as soon as they have laid

by a little money ; some form of independence wîch shall

give them a home of their own is constantly in mind.

Families look forward to the buying of landed homesteads,


and the scattered brothers and sisters work awhile in do-

mestic service to gain the common fund for the purpose

;

your seamstress intends to become a dressmaker, and take

in wo"rk at her own house;your cook is pondering a mar-

riage with the baker, which shall transfer her toils from

your cooking-stove to her own.

Young women are eagerly rushing into every other em-

ployment, till feminine trades and callings are all over-

stocked. "We are continually harrowed with tales of the

suiferings of distressed needle-women, of the exactions arfd

extortions practiced on the frail sex in the many branches

of labor and trade at which they try their hands ; and yet

women will encounter all these chances of ruin and starva-

tion rather than make up their minds to permanent domes-

tic service.

Now, what is the matter with domestic service ? Onewould think, on the face of it, that a calling which gives a

settled home, a comfortable room, rent-free, with fire and

lights, good board and lodging, and steady, well-paid wages,

would certainly offer more attractions than the making of

shirts for tenpence, with all the risks of providing one's

own sustenance and shelter.

Is it not mainly from the want of a definite idea of the

true position of a servant under our democratic institu-

tions that domestic service is so shunned and avoided in

America, and that it is the very last thing which an intelli-

gent young woman will look to for a living ? It is more

the want of personal respect toward those in that position

than the labor incident to it which repels our people from

it. Many would be willing to perform these labors, but

they are not willing to place themselves in a situation

where their self-respect is hourly wounded by the implica-

tion of a degree of inferiority, which does notfollow any kind

of labor or service in this cowntry hut that of the family

^

There exists in the minds of employers an unsuspected

spirit of superiority, which is stimulated into an active


form by the resistance which democracy inspires in the

working-class. Many families think of servants only as a

necessary evil, their wages as exactions, and all that is al-

lowed them as so much taken from the family ; and they

seek in every way to get from them as much and to give

them as little as possible. Their rooms are the neglected,

iU-furnished, incommodious ones—and the kitchen is the

most cheerless and comfortless place in the house.

Other families, more good-natured and liberal, provide

their domestics with more suitable accommodations, and

are more indulgent; but there is still a latent spirit of

something Kke contempt for the position. That they treat

their servants with so much consideration seems to them a

merit entitling them' to the most prostrate gratitude ; and

they are constantly disappointed and shocked at that want

of sense of inferiority on the part of these people which

leads them to appropriate pleasant rooms, good furniture,

and good Kving as mere matters of common justice.

It seems to be a constant surprise to some employers that

servants should insist on having the same human wants as

themselves. Ladies who yawn in their elegantly furnished

])arlors, among books and pictures, if they have not com-

pany, parties, or opera to diversify the evening, seem as-

tonished and half indignant that cook and chambermaid

are more disposed to go out for an evening gossip than to

sit on hard chairs in the kitchen where they have been toil-

ing all day. The pretty chambermaid's anxieties about her

dress, the minutes she spends at her small and not very

clear mirror, are sneeringly noticed by those whose toilet-

cares take up serious hours ; and the question has never ap-

parently occurred to them why a serving-maid should not

want to look pretty as wdl as her mistress. She is a wo-

man as well as they, with all a woman's wants and weak-

nesses ; and her dress is as much to her as theirs to them.

A vast deal of trouble among servants arises from im-

pertinent interferences and petty tyrannical exactions on the

324,

THE BOVSEKEEPER'8 MANUAL.

part of employers. Now, tlie authority of the master and

mistress of a house in regard to their domestics extends

simply to the things they have contracted to do and the

hours during which they have contracted to serve ; other-

wise than this, they have no more right to interfere with

them in the disposal of their time than with any mechanic

whom they employ. They have, indeed, a right to regulate

the hours of their own household, and servants can, choose

between conformity to these hours and the loss of their

situation ; but, within reasonable limits, their right to conte

and go at their own discretion, in their own time, should be

unquestioned.

If employers are troubled by the fondness of their ser-

vants for dancing, evening company, and late hours,. the

proper mode of proceeding is to make ihese matters a sub-

ject of distinct contract in hiring. The more strictly and

perfectly the business matters of the first engagement of

domestics are conducted, the more likelihood^ there is of

mutual quiet and satisfaction in the relation. It is quite

competent to every housekeeper to say what practices are

or are not consistent with the rules of her family, and what

wiU be inconsistent with the service for which she agrees

to pay. It is much better to regulate such affairs by cool

contract in the outset than by warm altercations and pro-

tracted domestic battles.

As to the terms of social intercourse, it seems somehowto be settled in the minds of many employers that their

servants owe them and their family more respect than they

and the family owe to the servants. But do they ? Whatis the relation of servant to employer in a democratie

country ? Precisely that of a person who for money per-

forms any kind of service for you. The carpenter comes

into your house to put up a set o shelves—the cook comes

into your kitchen to cook your dinner. You never think

that the carpenter owesôu any more respect than you owe

to him because he is in your house doing your behests; he

TKB CARE OF SERVANTS. 325

IS your fellow-citizen, you treat him witli respect, you ex-

pect to be treated with respect by him. You have a claim

on him that he shall do your work according to your direc-

tions—no more.

Now, I apprehend that there is a very common notion as

to the position and rights of servants which is quite diflPer-

ent from this. Is it not a common feeling that a servant

is one who may be treated with a degree of freedom by

every member of the family which he or she may not re-

turn ? Do not people feel at liberty to question servants

about their private affairs, to comment on their dress and

appearance, ia a manner which they would feel to be an

impertinence, if reciprocated ? Do they not feel at liberty

to express dissatisfaction with their performances in rude

and imceremonious terms, to reprove them in the presence

of company, while yet they require that the dissatisfaction

of servants shall be expressed only in terms of respect ? Awoman would not feel herself at liberty to talk to her mil-

liner or her dress-maker in language as devoid of considera-

tion as she will employ toward her cook or chambermaid..

And yet both are rendering her a service which she pays

for in money, and one is no more made her inferior thereby

than the other. Both have an equal right to be treated

with courtesy. The master and mistress of a house have a

right to require courteous treatment from all whom their

roof shelters; but they have no more right to exact it

of servants than of every guest and every chUd, and they

themselves owe it as much to servants as to guests.

In order that servants may be treated with respect and

courtesy, it is not necessary, as in simpler patriarchal days,

that they sit at the family-table. Your carpenter or plumb-

er does not feel hurt that you do not ask him to dine with

you, nor your milliner and mantaa-maker that you do not

exchange ceremonious calls and invite them to your parties.

It is well understood that your relations with them are of a

mere business character. They never take it as an assump-

tion of superiority on your part that you do not admit them

326 THE EOUSEKBEPER'S MANUAL.

to relations of private intimacy. There may be the most

perfect respect and esteem and even friendship between

them and you, notwithstanding. So it may be in the case

of servants. It is easy to make any person nnderstand that -

there are quite other reasons than the assumption of person-

al superiority for not wishing to admit servants to the family

privacy. It was not, in fact, to sit in the parlor or at the

table, in themselves considered, that was the thing aimed at

by New-England girls ; these were valued only as signs that

they were deemed worthy of respect and consideration, and,

where freely conceded, were often in point of fact declined.

Let servants feel, in their treatment by their employers

and in the atmosphere of the family, that their position is

held to be a respectable one ; let them feel, in the mistress

of the family, the charm of unvarying consideration and

good manners; let their work-rooms be made convenient

and comfortable, and their private apartments bear some

reasonable comparison in point of agreeableness to those of

other members of the family, and domestic service will be

more frequently sought by a superior and self-respecting

class. There are families in which such a state of things

prevails; and such families, amid 'the many causes which

unite to make the tenure of service uncertain, have gene-

rally been able to keep good permanent servants.

There is an extreme into which kindly disposed people

often ran with regard to servants which may be men-

tioned here. They make pets of them. They give extrava-

gant wages and indiscreet indulgences, and, through indo-

lence and easiness of temper, tolerate neglect of duty.

Many of the complaints of the ingratitude of servants

come from those who have spoiled them in this way ; while

many of the longest and most harmonious domestic unions

have sprung from a simple, quiet course of Christian justice

and benevolence, a recognition of servants as feUow-beings

and fellow-Christians, 8,nd a doing to them as we would in

like circumstances that they should do to us.

The mistresses of American families, whether they like


it or not, have the duties of missionaries imposed upon themby that class from which our supply of domestic servants is

drawn. They may as well accept the position cheerfully,

and, as one raw, untrained hand after another passes

through their family, and is instructed by them in the mys-teries of good house-keeping, comfort themselves, with the

reflection that they are doing something to form good wives

and mothers for the republic.

The complaints made of Irish girls are numerous andloud ; the failings of green Erin, alas ! are but too open

and manifest;yet, in arrest of judgment, let us move this

consideration : let us imagine our own daughters between

the ages of sixteen and twenty-four, untaught and inexperi-

enced in domestic affairs as they commonly are, shipped to

a foreign shore to seek service in families. It may be ques-

tiohed whether, as a whole, they would do much better.

The girls that fill our families and do our house-work are

often of the age of our own daughters, standing fQr them-

selves, without mothers to guide them, in a foreign country,

not only bravely supporting themselves, but sending homein every ship remittances to impoverished friends left be-

hind. If our daughters did as much for us, should we not

be proud of their energy and heroism ?

When we go into the houses of our country, we find a .

majority of well-kept, well-ordered, and even elegant estab-

lishments, where the only hands employed are those of the

daughters of Erin. True, American women have been

their instructors, and many a weary hour of care have they

had in the discharge of this office; but the result on the

wliole is beautiful and good, and the end of it, doubtless,

will be peace.

Instead, then, of complaining that we can not have our

own peculiar advantages and those of other nations too, or

imagining how much better off we should be if things were

different from what they are, it is much wiser and more

Ohristianlike to strive cheerfully to conform to actual cir-


cimiBtaQces ; and, after remedying all that we can control,

patiently to submit to what is beyond our power. If do-

mestics are found to be incompetent, unstable, and uncon-

formed to their station, it is Perfect Wisdom which ap-

points these trials to teach us patience, fortitude, and self-

control ; and if the discipline is met in a proper spirit, it

will prove a blessing rather than an evil.

But to judge correctly in regard to some of the evils in-

volved in the state of domestic service in this country, we

should endeavor to conceive ourselves placed in the situation

of those of whom complaint is made, that we niay not ex-

pect from them any more than it would seem right should

be exacted from us in similar circumstances.

It is sometimes urged against domestics that they exact

exorbitant wages. But what is the rule of rectitude on

this subject ? Is it not the universal law of labor and of

trade that an article is to be valued according to its scarcity

and the demand ? When wheat is scarce, the farmer raises

his price ; and when a mechanic offers services difficult to

be obtained, he makes a corresponding increase of price.

And why is it not right for domestics to act according to a

rule allowed to be correct in reference to all other trades and

professions ? It is a fact, that really good domestic service

must continue to increase in value just in proportion as this

country waxes rich and prosperous ; thus making the propor-

tion of those who wish to hire labor relatively greater, and

the number of those willing to go to service less.

Money enables the rich to gain many advanta^s which

those of more limited circumstances can not secure. Oneof these is, securing good servants by offering high

wages ; and this, as the scarcity of this class increases, will

serve constantly to raise the price of service. It is right

for domestics to charge the market value, and this value is

always decided by the scarcity of the article and the

amount of demand. Eight views of this subject will some-

times serve to diminish hard feelings toward those who

TMB CJJtH OF SERVANTS. 329

would otherwise be wrongfully regarded as unreasonableand exacting.

Another complaint against servants is that oi instability

and discontent, leading to perpetual change. But in refer-

ence to this, let a mother or daughter conceive of their owncircumstances as so changed that the daughter must go outto service. Suppose a place is engaged, and it is then foundthat she must sleep in a comfortless garret; and that, whena new domestic comes, perhaps a coarse and dii-ty foreigner,

she must share her bed with her. Another place is offered,

where she can have a comfortable room and an agreeable

room-mate; in such a case, would not both mother anddaughter think it right to change ?

Or suppose, on trial, it was found that the lady of the

house was fretful or exacting and hard to please, or that her

children were so ungoverned as to be perpetual vexations

;

or that the work was so heavy that no time was allowed for

relaxation and the care of a wardrobe ; and another place

offers where these evils can be escaped ; would not mother

and daughter here think it right to change ? And is it not

right for domestics, as well as their employers, to seek

places where they can be most comfortable ?

In some cases, this instabiKty and love of change would

Ibe remedied, if employers would take more pains to makea residence with them agreeable, and to attach servants to

the family by feelings of gratitude and affection. There

are ladies, even where well-qualified domestics are most

rare, who seldom find any trouble in keeping good and

steady ones. And the reason is, that their servants know

they can not better their condition by any change within

reach. It is not merely by giving them comfortable rooms,

and good food, and presents, and privileges, that the attach-

ment of domestic servants is secured ; it is by the manifesta-

tion of a friendly and benevolent interest in their comfort

and improvement. This is exhibited in bearing patiently

with their faults ; in kindly teaching them how to improve

;

in shoMang them how to make and take proper care of their

330 THE HOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL. ^

clothes ; in guarding their health ; in teaching them to read

if necessary, and supplying them with proper books ; and

in short, by endeavoring, so far as may be, to supply the

place of parents. It is seldom that such a course would

fail to secure steady service, and such affection and grati-

tude that even higher wages would be ineffectual to tempt

them away. There would probably be some cases ot un-

grateful returns ; but there is no doubt that the course in-

dicated, if generally pursued, would very much lessen the

evil in question.

When servants are forward and bold in manners and dis-

respectful ia address, they may be considerately taught that

those who are among the best-bred and genteel have cour-

teous and respectful manners and language to all they meet

:

while many who have wealth, are regarded as vulgar, be-

cause they exhibit rude and disrespectful manners. The

very term gentle man indicates the refinement and delicacy

of address which distinguishes the high-bred from the coarse

and vulgar.

In regard to appropriate dress, in most cases it is difficult

for an employer to iuterfere, di/recfl/y, with comments or ad-

vice. The most successful mode is to offer some service in

mending or making a wardrobe, and when a confidence in

the kindness of feeling is thus gained, remarks and sugges-

tions will generally be properly received, and new views of

propriety and economy can be imparted. In some cases it

may be well for an employer who, from appearances, antici-

pates difficulty of this kind, in making the preliminary con-

tract or agreement to state that she wishes to have the

room, person, and dress of her servants kept neat and in

order, and that she expects to remind them of their duty,

in this particular, if it is neglected. Domestic servants are

very apt to neglect the care of their own chambers and

clothing ; and such habits have a most pernicious influence

on their well-being and on that of their children in future

domestic life. An employer, then, is bound to exercise a

parental care over them, in these respects.


There is oue great mistake, not unfrequently made, in the

management both of domestics and of children, and that is,

in supposing that the way to cure defects is by finding fanlt

as each failing occurs. But instead of this being true, in

many cases the directly opposite course is the best ; while, in

all instances, much good judgment is required in order to de-

cide when to notice faults and when to let them pass unno-

ticed. There are some minds very sensitive, easily discour-

aged, and infirm of purpose. Such persons, when they have

formed habits of negligence, haste, and awkwardness, often

need expressions of sympathy and encouragement rather

than reproof. They have usually been found fault with so

much that they have become either hardened or despond-

ing ; and it is often the case, that a few words of commendation will awaken fresh efforts and renewed hope. In al

most every case, words of kindness, confidence, and encour-

agement should be mingled with the needful admonitions

or reproof.

It is a good rule, in reference to this point, to forewarn

instead of finding fault. Thus, when a thing has been done

wrong, let it pass unnoticed, till, it is to be done again ; and

then, a simple request to have it done in the right way will

secure quite as much, and probably more, willing effort,

than a reproof administered for neglect. Some persons

seem to take it for granted that young and inexperienced

minds are bound to have all the forethought and discretion

of mature persons ; and freely express wonder and disgust

when mishaps occur for want of these traits. But it would

be far better to save from mistake or forgetfulness by pre-

vious caution and care on the part of those who have

gained experience and forethought ; and thus many occa-

sions of complaint and ill-humor will be avoided.

Those who fill the places of heads of families are not

very apt to think how painful it is to be chided for neglect

of duty or for faults of character. If they would some-

times imagine themselves in the place of those whom they

332 THE BOnSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

control, with some person daily administering reproof

to them, VD. the same tone and style as they employ to

those who are nnder them, it might serve as a useful check

to their chidings. It is often the case, that persons who are

most strict and exacting and least able to make allowances

and receive palliations, are themselves peculiarly sensitive

to any thing which implies that they are in fault. By such,

the spirit implied in the Divine petition, " Forgive us our

trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,"

needs especially to be cherished.

One other consideration is very important. There is no

duty more binding on Christians than that of patience and

meekness under provocations and disappointment. Now,the tendency of every sensitive mind, when thwarted ia its

wishes, is to complain and find fault, and that often in tones

of fretfulness or anger. But there are few servants whohave not heard enough of the Bible to know that angry or

fretful fault-finding from the mistress of a family, whenher work is not done to suit her, is not in agreement with

the precepts of Christ. They notice and feel the inconsist-

ency ; and every woman, when she gives way to feelings of

anger and impatience at the faults of those around her,

lowers herself ia their respect, while her own conscience,

imless very much blinded, can not but sufier a wound.

In speaking of the office of the American mistress as

being a missionary one, we are far from recommending any

controversial interference with the religious faith of our

servants. It is far better to incite them to be good Chris-

tians iu their own way than to run the risk of shaking their

faith in all religion by pointing out to them what seem to

us the errors of that in which they have been educated.

The general purity of life and propriety of demeanor of so

many thousands of undefended young girls cast yearly upon

our shores, with no home but their church, and no shield

but their religion, are a sufficient proof that this religion

exerts an influence over them not to be lightly trifled with.

THE CARE OF SERVANTS. 33S

But there is a real imity even in opposite Christian forms

;

and the Roman Catholic servant and the Protestant mis-

ti'ess, if alike possessed by the spirit of Christ, and striving

to conform to the Golden Rule, can not help being one in

heart, though one go to mass and the other to meeting.

Finally, the bitter baptism through which we have passed,

the life-blood dearer than our own which has drenched dis-

tant fields, should remind us of the preciousness of distinc-

tive American ideas. They who would seek in their foolish

pride to establish the pomp of liveried servants in America

are doing that which is simply absurd. A servant can never

in our country be the mere appendage to another man, to be

marked like a sheep with the color of his owner ; he must

be a fellow-citizen, with an established position of his own,

free to make contracts, free to come and go, and having in

his sphere titles to consideration and respect just as definite

as those of any trade or profession whatever.

Moreover, we can not in this country maintain to any

great extent large retinues of servants. Even with ample

fortunes, they are forbidden by the general character of so-

ciety here, which makes them cumbrous and difficult to

manage. Every mistress of a family knows that her cares

increase with every additional servant. Two keep the

peace with each other and their employer ; three begin a

possible discord, which possibility increases with four, and

becomes certain with five or six. Trained housekeepers,

such as regulate the complicated establishments of the old

world, form a class that are not, and from the nature

of the case never wiU be, found in any great numbers in this

country. All such women, as a general thing, are keeping,

and prefer to keep, houses of their own.

A moderate style of housekeeping, small, compact, and

simple domestic establishments, must necessarily be the gen-

eral order of life in America. So many openings of profit

ars to be found in this country, that domestic service neces-

sarily wants the permanence which forms so agreeable a

feature of it in the old world.


This being the case, it should be an object in America to

exclude from the labors of the family all that can, with

greater advantage, be executed out of it by combined labor.

Formerly, in New-England, soap and candles were to be

made in each separate family ; now, comparatively few take

this toil upon them. "We buy soap of the soap-maker, and

candles of thp candle-factor. This principle might be ex-

tended much further. In France, no family makes its own

bread, and better bread can not be eaten than can be

bought at the appropriate shops. No family does its own

washing ; the family's linen is all sent to women who, mak-

ing this their sole profession, get it up with a care and nice-

ty which can seldom be equaled in any family.

How would it simplify the burdens of the American

housekeeper to have washing and ironing day expunged from

her calendar! How much more neatly and compactly

could the whole domestic system be arranged ! If aU the

money that each separate faniily spends on the outfit and

accommodations for washing and ironing, on fuel, soap,

starch, and the other requirements, were united in a fund to

create a laundry for every dozen families, one or two good

women could do in first rate style what now is very indif-

ferently done by the disturbance and disarrangement of all

other domestic processes in these families. Whoever sets

neighborhood-laundries on foot will do much to solve the

American housekeeper's hardest problem.

Again, American women must not try with three servants

to carry on life in the style which in the old world requires

sixteen ; they must thoroughly imderstand, and be prepared

to teach, every branch of housekeeping ; they must study

to make domestic service desirable, by treating their servants

in a way to lead them to respect themselves and to feel

themselves respected ; and there will gradually be evolved

from the present confusion a solution of the domestic pro-

blem which shall be adapted to the life of a new and growing world.

XXVI.

CASE OF THE 8I0E.

It is interesting to notice in the histories of our Lordthe prominent place given to the care of the sick. Whenhe first sent out the apostles, it was to heal the sick as

well as to preach. Again, when he sent out the seventy,

their first command was to " heal the sick," and next to

say, " the kingdom of Grod has come nigh unto you." Thebody was to be healed first, in order to attend to the king-

dom of God, even when it was " brought nigh."

Jesus Christ spent more time and labor in the cure of

men's bodies than in preaching, even if we subtract those

labors with his earthly father by which family homes

were provided. When he ascended to the heavens, his last

recorded words to his followers, as given by Mark, were,

that his disciples should " lay hands on the sick," that they

might recover. Still more directly is the duty of care for

the sick exhibited in the solemn allegorical description of

the last day. It was those who visited the sick that were

the blessed ; it was those who did not visit the sick who

were told to "depart." Thus are we abundantly taught

that one of the most sacred duties of the Christian family

is the training of its inmates to care and kind attention to

the sick.

Every woman who has the care of young children, or of

a large family, is frequently called upon to advise what

ehall be done for some one who is indisposed ; and often,

in ciicumstances where she must trust solely to her own


judgment. In sucli cases, some err by neglecting to do

any thing at all, till tlie patient is quite sick ; but a still

greater number err from excessive and injurious dosing.

Tbe two great causes of the ordinary slight attacks of

illness in a family, are, sudden chills, which close the

pores of the skin, and thus affect the throat, lungs, or bow-

els ; and the excessive or improper use of food. In most

cases of illness from the first cause, bathing the feet, and

some aperient drink to induce perspiration, are suitable

lemedies.

In case of illness from improper food, or excess in eat-

ing, fasting for one or two meals, to give the system time

and chance to relieve itself, is the safest remedy. Some-

times, a gentle cathartic of castor-oil may be needfal ; but

it is best first to try fasting. A safe relief from injurious

articles in the stomach is an emetic of warm water ; but

to be effective, several tumblerfiils must be given in quick

succession, and till the stomach can receive no more.

The following extract from a discourse of Dr. Burne, be-

fore thei London Medical Society, contains important infor-

mation :" In civilized life, the causes which are most gene-

rally and continually operating in the production of dis-

eases are, affections of the mind, improper diet, and re-

tention of the intestinal excretions. The undue retention

of excrementitious matter allows of the absorption of its

more liquid pai'ts, which is a cause of great impurity to

the blood, and the excretions, thus rendered hard andknotty, act more or less as exttaneous substances, and, bytheir irritation, produce a determination of blood to the

intestines and to the neighboring viscera, which ultimately

ends in inflammation. It also has a great effect on the

whole system ; causes a determination of blood to the head,

which oppresses the brain and dejects the mind ; deranges

the functions of the stomach ; causes flatulency ; and pro-

duces a general state of discomfort."

Dr. Combe remarks on this subject : " In the natural

CARE OF THE SICK. 337

and healthy state, under a proper system of diet, and withsufficient exercise, the bowels are relieved regularly, once

every day." Habit " is powerful in modifying the result,

and in sustaining healthy action when once fairly establish

ed. Hence the obvious advantage of observing as muchregularity in relieving the system, as in taking our meals."

It is often the case that soliciting nature at a regular pe-

riod, once a day, wiU remedy constipation without medi-

cine, and induce a regular and healthy state of the bowels." When, however, as most frequently happens, the consti-

pation arises from the absence of all assistance from the

abdominal and respiratory muscles, the first step to be

taken is, again to solicit their aid ; first, by removing all

impediments to free respiration, such as stays, waistbands,

and belts ; secondly, by resorting to such active exercise

as shall call the muscles into full and regular action ; * and

lastly, by proportioning the quantity of food to the wants

of the system, and the condition of the digestive organs.

" If we employ these means, systematically and perseve-

ringly, we shall rarely fail in at last restoring the healthy

action of the bowels, with little aid from medicine. Butif we neglect these modes, we may go on for years, adding

pill to pill, and dose to dose, without ever attaining the

end at which we aim."

" There is no point in which a woman needs more know-

* The most effective mode of exercising the abdominal and respiratory

muscles, in order to remedy constipation, is hy a continuous alternate con-

traction of the muscles of the abdomen and diaphragm. By contracting

the muscles of the abdomen, the intestines are pressed inward and up-

ward, and then the muscles of the diaphragm above contract and preSs

them downward and outward. Thus the blood is drawn to the torpid

parts to stimulate to the healthful action, while the agitation moves their

contents down'âxd. An invalid can thus exercise the abdominal muscles

in bed. The proper time is just after a meal. This exercise, continued ten

minutes a day, including short intervals of rest, and persevered in for a

week or two, will cure most ordinary cases of constipation, provided

proper food Is taken. Coarse bread and fruit are needed for this purpose"

in most cases.

I


ledge and discretion than in administering remedies for

what seem slight attacks, which are not supposed to re

quire the attention of a physician. It is little realized that

purgative drugs are unnatural modes of stimulating the

internal organs, tending to exhaust them of their secre-

tions, and to debilitate and disturb the animal economy.

For this reason, they should be used as little as possible

;

and fasting, and perspiration, and the other methods

pointed out, should always be first resorted to."

"When medicine must be given, it should be borne in mind

that there are various classes of purgatives, which pro-

duce very diverse eflfects. Some, like salts, operate to thin

the blood, and reduce the system ; others are stimulating

;

and others have a pecuKar operation on certain organs..

Of course, great discrimination and knowledge are needed,

ia order to select the kind which is suitable to the particu-

lar disease, or to the particular constitution of the invalid.

This shows the folly of using the many kinds of pills, and

other quack medicines^ where no knowledge can be had of

their composition. Pills which are good for one kind of

disease, might operate as poison in another state of the

system.

It is very common in cases of colds, which affect the

lungs or throat, to continue to try one dose after another

for relief It will be well to bear in mind at such times,

that all which goes into the stomach must be first absorbed

into the blood before it can reach the diseased part ; and that

there is 'some danger of injm-ing the stomach, or other

parts of the system, by such a variety of doses, many of

which, it is probable, will be directly contradictory in

their nature, and thus neutralize any supposed benefit

they might separately impart.

When a cold affects the head and eyes, and also impedes

breathing through the nose, great relief is gained by a

wet napkin spread over the upper part of the face, cover-

ing the nose except an opening for breath. This is to be

CARE OF TBE SICK. 339

covered by folds of flannel fastened over the napkin witha handkerchief. So also a wet towel over the throat andwhole chest, covered with folds of flannel, often relieves

oppressed lungs.

Ordinarily, a cold can be arrested on its first symptomsby coverings in bed and a bottle of hot water, securing

fi'ee perspiration. Often, at its first appearance, it can bestopped by a spoonful or two of whisky, or any alcoholic

liquor, in hot water, taken on going to bed. "Warm cover-

ering to induce perspiration will assist the process. These

simple remedies are safest. Perspiration should always be

followed by a towel-bath.

It is very unwise to tempt the appetite of a person whois indisposed. The cessation of appetite is the warning of

nature that the system is in such a state that food can not

be digested. When food is to be given to one who has no

desire for it, beef-tea is the best in most cases.

The following suggestions may be found useful in regard

to nursing the sick. As nothing contributes more to the

restoration of health than pure air, it should be a primary

object to keep a sick-room well ventilated. At least twice

in the twenty-four hours, the patient should be well cov-

ered, and fresh air freely admitted from out of doors.

After this, if need be, the room should be restored to a

proper temperature, by the aid of an ppen fire. Bedding

and clothing should also be well aired, and frequently

changed ; as the exhalations from the body, in sickness,

are peculiarly deleterious. Frequent ablutions of the

whole body, if possible, are very useful ; and for these, warmwater may be employed, when cold water is disagreeable.

A sick-room should always be kept very neat and in

perfect order ; and all haste, noise, and bustle should be

avoided. In order to secure neatness, order, and quiet, in

case of long illness, the following arrangement should be

made. Keep a large box for fuel, which viU need to be

filled only twice in twenty-four hours. Provide also and


keep in the room or an adjacent closet, a small tea-kettle,

a saucepan, a pail of water for drinks and ablutions, a

pitcher, a covered porringer, two pint bowls, two tumblers,

two cups and saucers, two wine-glasses, two large and two

small spoons ; also a dish in which to wash these articles

;

a good supply of towels and a broom. Keep a slop-bucket

near by to receive the wash of the room. Procuring all

these articles at once, will save much noise and confusion.

"Whenever medicine or food is given, spread a clean tow-

el over the person or bed-clothing, and get a clean hand-

kerchief, as nothing is more annoying to a weak stomach

than the stickiness and soiling produced by medicine and

food.

Keep the fire-place neat, and always wash all arti-

cles and put them in order as soon as they are put of use.

A sick person has nothing to do but look about the

room ; and when every thing is neat and in order, a feeling

of comfort is induced, while disorder, filth, and neglect are

constant objects of annoyance which, if not complained

of, are yet felt.

One very important particular in the case of those whoare delicate in constitution, as well as in the case of the

sick, is the preservation of warmth, especially in the hands

and the feet. The equal circulation of the blood is an im-

portant element for good health, and this is impossible

when the extreniities are habitually or frequently cold. It

is owing to this fact that the coldness caused by wetting

the feet is so injurious. In cases where disease or a weakconstitution causes a feeble or imperfect circulation, great

pains should be taken to dress the feet and hands warmly,

especially around the wrists and ankles, where the blood-

vessels are nearest to the surface and thus most exposed to

cold. Warm elastic wristlets and anklets would save

many a feeble person frorii increasing decay or disease.

When the circulation is feeble from debility or disease,

the union of carbon and oxygen in the capillaries is slow-

CARE OF TOE SICK. 341

er than in health, and therefore care should be taken to

preserve the heat thus generated by warm clothing andprotection from cold draughts. In nervous debility,, it is

peculiarly important to preserve the animal heat, for its

excessive loss especially affects weak nerves. Many an in-

valid is carelessly and habitually suffering cold feet, whowould recover health by proper care to preserve animal

heat, especially in the extremities.

The following are useful directions for dressing a blister.

Spread thinly, on a linen cloth, an ointment composed of

one third of beeswax to two thirds of tallow ; lay this

upon a linen cloth folded many times. With a sharp

pair of scissors make an aperture in the lower part of the

blister-bag, with a little hole above to give it vent.

Break the raised skin as little as possible. Lay on the

cloth spread as directed. The blister at first should be

dressed as often as three times in a day, and the dressing

renewed each time. Hot fbmentations in most cases will

be as good as a blister, less painful, and safer.

Always prepare food for the sick in the neatest and

most careful manner. It is in sickness that the senses of

smell and taste are most susceptible of annoyance ; and

often, little mistakes or negligences in preparing food will

take away all appetite.

Food for the sick should be cooked on coals, that no

smoke may have access to it ; and great care must be taken

to prevent, by stirring, any adherence to the bottom of the

cooking vessel, as this always gives a disagreeable taste.

Keeping clean handkerchiefs and towels at hand, cool

Lag the pillows, sponging the hands with water, (with care

to dry them thoroughly,) swabbing the mouth with a

clean linen rag on the end of a stick, are modes of increas-

ing the comfort of the sick. Always throw a shawl over

a sick person when raised up.

Be careful to understand a physician's directions, and to

obey them mvpUcitly. If it be supposed that any other


person knows better abont tlie case than the physician,

dismiss the physician, and employ that person in his stead.

It is always best to consult the physician as to where

medicines shall be purchased, and to show the articles to

him before using them, as great impositions are practiced

in selling old, useless, and adulterated drugs. Always put

labels on vials of medicine, and keep them out of the

reach of children.

Be careful to label all powders, and particularly all

white powders, as many poisonous medicines in this form

are easily mistaken for others which are harmless.

In nursing the sick, always speak gently and cheering-

ly ; and, while you express sympathy for their pain and

trials, stimulate them to bear all with fortitude, and with

resignation to the Heavenly Father who " doth not will-

ingly afflict," and " who causeth all things to work togeth-

er for good to them that love him." Offer to read the

Bible or other devotional books, whenever it is suitable,

and will not be deemed obtrusive.

Miss Ann Preston, one of the most refined as well as

talented and learned female physicians, in a published ar-

ticle, gives valuable instruction as to the training of nurses.

She claims that every woman should be trained for this

office, and that some who have special traits that fit themfor it should make it their daily professional business. She

remarks that the indispensable qualities in a good nurse

are common sense, conscientiousness, and sympathetic

benevolence : and thus continues :

" God himself made and commissioned one set of

nurses ; and in doing this and adapting them to utter

helplessness and weakness, what did he do ? He madethem to love the dependence and to see something to ad-

mire in the very perversities of their charge. He madethem to humor the caprices and regard both reasonable

and unreasonable complainings. He made them to bend

tenderly over the disturbed and irritated, and fold them to

CAME OF TSE SICK. 343

quiet assurance in arms made soft with love ; in a word hemade mothers ! And, other things being equal, whoeverhas most maternal tenderness and warm sympathy with iiie

sufferer is the best nurse.".- And it is those most nearlyendowed by nature with these traits who should be select-

ed to be trained for the sacred office of nm-se to the sick,

while, in all the moral training of womanhood, this ideal

should be.the aim.

Again, Miss Preston wisely suggests that " persons maybe conscientious and benevolent and possess good judg-

ment in many respects, and yet be miserable nurses of the

sick for want of training and right knowledge." Knowledge, the assurance that one knows what to do,

always gives presence of mind—and presence of mind is

important not only in a sick-room but in every home.Who has not known consternation in a family when someone has .fainted, or been burned, or cut, while none werepresent who knew how to stop the flowing blood, or revive

the fainting, or apply the saving application to the burn ?

And yet knowledge and efficiency in such cases would save

many a life, and be a most fitting and desirable accom-

plishment in every woman."" We are slow to learn the mighty influence of common

agencies, and the greatness of little things, in their bear-

ing upon life and health. The woman who believes it

takes no strength to bear a little noise or some disagreea-

b .e announcements, and loses patience with the weak, ner-

vous invalid who is agonized with creaking doors or shoes,

or loud, shrill voices, or rustling papers, or sharp, fidgety

motions, or the whispering so common in sick-rooms and

often so acutely distressing to the sufferer, will soon cor-

rect such misapprehensions by herself experiencing a ner-

vous fever."

Here the writer would put in a plea for the increasing

multitudes of nervous sufferers not confined to a sick-

room, and yet exposed to all the varied sources of pain in-


cident to an exhausted nervous system, which often cause

more intolerable and also more wearing pain than other

kinds of suffering.

" An exceeding acuteness of the senses is the result of

many forms of nervous disease. A heavy breath, an

urwashed hand, a noise that would not have been noticed

in health, a crooked table-cover or bed-spread may disturb

or oppress ; and more than one invalid has spoken in myhearing of the sickening effect produced by the nurse

tasting her food, or blowing in her drinks to make them

cool. One woman, and a sensible woman too, told me hex

nurse had turned a large cushion upon her bureau with the

back part in front. She determined not to be disturbed

nor to speak of such a trifl.e, but after struggling three liowrs

in vain to banish the annoyance, she was forced to ask to

have the cushion placed right."

In this place should be mentioned the suffering caused

to persons of reduced nervous power not only by the smoke

of tobacco, but by the fetid effluvium of it from the breath

and clothiag of persons who smoke. Many such are sick-

ened in society and in car-traveling, and to a degree little

imagined by those who gain a dangerous pleasure at the

frequent expense of the feeble and suffering.

Miss Preston again remarks, " It is often exceedingly

important to the very weak, who can take but very little

nutriment, to have that little whenever they want it. T

have known invalids sustain great injury and suffering

;

when exhausted for want of food, they have had to wait

and wait, feeling as if every minute was an hour, while

some well-fed nurse delayed its coming. Said a lady, ' It

makes me hungry now to think of the meals she brought

me upon that little waiter when I was sick, such brown

thin toast, such good broiled beef, such fragrant tea, and

every thing looking so exquisitely nice I If at any time I

did not think of any thing I wanted, nor ask for food, she

did not annoy me with questions, but brought some little

CASE OF TSE SICK. 345

delicacy at tlie proper time, and wlieii it came, I could

take it.'

" If there is one pxirpose of a personal kind for which it

is especially desirable to lay up means, it is for being well

nursed in sickness;yet in the present state of society, this

is absolutely impossible, even to the wealthy, because of the

scarcity of competent nurses. Families worn down with

the long and extreme illness of a member require relief

from one whose feelings will be less taxed, and who can

better endure the labor.

" But alas ! how often is it impossible, for love or money,

to obtain one capable of taking the burden from the ex-

hausted sister or mother or daughter, and how often in

consequence they have died prematurely or struggled

through weary years with a broken constitution. Appeal

to those who have made the trial, and you will find that

very seldom have they been able to have those who by na-

ture or by training were competent for their duties. Ig-

norant, unscrupulous, inattentive—^how often têy disturb

and injure the patient ! A physician told me that one of his

patients had died because the nurse, contrary to orders, had

at a critical period washed her with cold water. I have

known one who, by stealth, quieted a fretful child with

laudanum, and of others who exhausted the sick by inces-

sant talking. One lady said that when, to escape this dis-

tressing garrulity, she.closed her eyes, the nurse exclaimed

aloud, ' Why, she is going to sleep while I am talking to

her.'

"A few only of the sensible, quiet, and loving women,

whose presence everywhere is a blessing, have qualified

themselves and followed nursing as a business.. Heaven

bless that few 1 What a sense of relief have I seen pervade

a family when such a one has been procured ; and what a

treasure seemed found

!

" There is very commonly an extreme susceptibility in the

sick to the moral atmosphere about them. They feel the

346 "^BE EOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

healthful influence of the presence of a true-hearted at-

teiidant and repose in it, though they may not be able to

define the cause; while dissimulation, falsehood, reckless-

ness, coarseness, jar terribly and injuriously on their height-

ened sensibilities. ' Are the Sisters of Charity really bet-

ter nurses than most other women V I asked an intelligent

lady who had seen much of our military hospitals. ' Yes,

they are,' was her reply. ' Why should it be so ?' 'I think

it is because with tbem it is a work of self-abnegation, and

of duty to God, and they are so quiet and self-forgetful in

its exercise that they do it better, while many other womenshow such self-consciousness and are so fussy

!"

Is there any reason why every Protestant woman should

not be trained for this self-denying office as a duty owed to

Ood?We can not better close this chapter than by one more

quotation from the same intelligent and attractive writer

:

"The good nurse is an artist. O tbe pillowy, soothing

softness of her touch, the neatness of her simple, unrustling

dress, the music of her assured yet gentle voice and tread,

the sense of security and rest inspired by her kind and hope-

ful face, the promptness and attention to every want, the

repose that like an atmosphere encircles her, the evidence

of heavenly goodness, and love that she diffuses !" Is not

such an art as this worth much to attain ?

In training children to the Christian life, one very im-

por.ant opportunity occurs whenever sickness appears in

the family or neighborhood. The repression of disturbing

noises, the speaking in tones of gentleness and sympathy,

the small offices of service or nursing in which children

can aid, should be inculcated as ministering to the Lordand Elder Brother of man, who has said, " Inasmuch as ye

have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,

ye have done it to me."

One of the blessed opportunities for such ministries is

given to children in the cultivation of flowers. The en-

CARE OF TBE SICK. 341

trance into a sick-room of a smiling, liealtliful child, bring-

ing an offering of flowers raised by its own labor, is like an

angel of comfort and love, " and aKke it blesseth bim whogives and him who takes."

A time is coming when the visitation of the sick, as a

part of the Christian life, will hold a higher consideration

than is now generally accorded, especially in the cases of

uninteresting sufferers who have nothing to attract kind at-

tentions, except that they are suffering childi-en of our

Father in heaven, and " one of the least" of the brethren

of Jesus Christ.

XXYIl.

ACCIDENTS AISD ANTIDOTEa

Ohildeen should be taught the following modes ol ja-

vinglife, health and limbs in cases of sudden emergency^ be-

fore a medical adviser can be summoned..

In case of a common, cut, bind the Hps of the woond

together with a rag, and put on nothing else. If it is large,

lay narrow strips of sticking-plaster obliquely across the

wound. In some cases it is needful to draw a needle and

thread through the lips of the woimd, and tie the two sides

together.

If an artery be cut, it must be tied as quickly as possible,

or the person will soon bleed to death. The blood from an

artery is a brighter red than that from the veins, and spirts

out in jets at each beat of the heart. Take hold of the end

of the artery and tie it or hold it tight till a surgeon comes.

In this case, and in all cases of bad wounds that bleed

much, tie a tight bandage near and above the wound, insert-

ing a stick into the bandage and twisting as tight as can

be 'borne, to stop the immediate effusion of blood.

Bathe bad bruises in hot water. Arnica water hastens a

cure, but is injurious and weakening to the parts when used

too long and too freely.

A sprain is relieved from the first pains by hot fomenta-

tions, or the application of very hot bandages, but entire

rest is the chief permanent remedy. The more the limb

is used, especially at first, the longer the time required for

the small broken fibres to knit together. The spraiaed

leg should be kept in a horizontal position. When a leg is

ACCIDENTS AJVD ANTIDOTES. 349

broken, tie it to the other leg, to keep it ^till till a surgeon

comes. _Tie a broken arm to a piece of thin wood, to keepit still till set.

In the case of bad burns that take off the skin, creosote

water is the best remedy. If this is not at hand, wood-soot

(not coal) pounded, sifted, and mixed with lard i^ nearly as

good, as such soot contains creosote. When a dressing is

put on, do not remove it tiU a skin is formed under it. If

nothing else is at hand for a bad burn, sprinkle flour oyer

the place where the skin is off and then let it remain, pro-

tected by a bandage. The chief aim is to keep the part

without skin from the air.

In case of drowning, the aim should be to clear the

throat, mouth and nostrils, and then produce the natural

action of the lungs in breathing as soon as possible, at the

same time removing wet clothes and applying warmth and

friction to the skin, especially the hands and feet, to start

the circulation. The best mode of cleansing the throat and

mouth of choking water is to lay the person on the face, and

raise the head a little, clearing the mouth and nostrils with

the finger, and then apply hartshorn or camphor to the

nose. This is safer and surer than a common mode of lift-

ing the body by the feet, or rolling on a barrel to empty

out the water.

To start the action of the lungs, first lay the person on

the face and press the back along the spine to expel all air

from the lungs. Then turn the body nearly, but not quite

over on to the back, thus opening the chest so that the air

wiU rush in if the mouth is kept open. Then turn the body

to the face again and expel the air, and then again nearly

over on to the back; and so continue for a long time.

Friction, dry and warm clothing, and warm applications

should be used in connection with this process. This is a

much better mode than using bellows, which some-

times win close the opening to the windpipe. The above

is the mode recommended by Dr. Marshall Hall, and is ap-

proved by the best medical authorities.


Certain articles are often kept in the house for cooking

or medical purposes, and sometimes by mistake are taken

in quantities that are poisonous.

Soda, saleratus, potash, or any other alkali can be ren-

dered harmless in the stomach by vinegar, tomato-juice, or

any other acid. If sulphuric or oxalic acid are taken,

pounded chalk in water is the best antidote. If those

are not at hand, strong soapsuds have been found effect-

ive. Large quantities of tepid water should be drank after

these antidotes are taken, so as to produce vomiting.

Lime or iaryta and its compounds demand a solution

of glauber salts or of sulphuric acid.

Iodine or Iodide ofPotassium demands large draughts of

wheat flour or starch in water, and then vinegar and water.

The stomach should then be emptied by vomiting with as

much tepid water as the stomach can hold.

Prussia acid, a violent poison, is sometimes taken bychildren in eating the pits of stone fruits or bitter almonds

which contain it. The antidote is to empty the stomach

by an emetic, and give water of ammonia or chloric water.

Affusions of cold water all over the body, followed bywarm hand friction, is often a remedy alone, but the above

should be added if at command. Antim,ony and its com-

pounds demand drinks of oak bark, or gall nuts, or very

strong green tea.

Arsenic demands oil or melted fat, with magnesia or

lime water in large quantities, till vomiting occurs.

Corrosive Sublimate, (often used to kill vermin,) and any

other form of mercury, requires milk or whites of eggs

in large quantities. The whites of twelve eggs in twoquarts of water, given in the largest possible draughts

every three minutes till free vomiting occurs, is a goodremedy. Flour and water will answer, though not so sure-

ly as the above. "Warm water will help, if nothing else is

in reach. The same remedy answers when any form of

copper, or tin, or zinc poison is taken, and also for creosote

ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES. 351

Zead and it8 compounds require a dilution of Epsomor Glauber salts, or some strong, acid drink, as lemon or

tomatoes.

JViirate of Silver demands salt water drank till vomiting

occurs.

Phosphorus (sometimes taken by cbildren from matcbes)

needs magnesia and copious drinks of gum Arabic, or gumwater of any sort.

Alcohol, in dangerous quantities, demands vomiting

with warm water. ,'

When one is violently sick from excessive use of tohac-

00, vomiting is a relief, if it arise spontaneously. After

tbat, or in case it does not occur, tbe juice of a lemon and

perfect rest, in a borizontal position on tbe back, will re-

lieve tbe liausea and faintness, generally sootbing tbe fool-

isb and over-wrougbt patient into a sleep.

Opium demands a quick emetic. Tbe best is a beaping

table-spoonful of powdered mustard, in a tumblerful of

warm water ; or powdered alum in balf-onnce doses and

strong coffee alternately in warm water. Give acid drinks

after vomiting. If vomiting is not elicited tbus, a stom-

acb pump is demanded. Dasb cold water on tbe bead, ap-

ply friction, and use all means to keep tbe person awake

and in motion.

Strychnia demands also quick emetics.

Tbe stomacb sbould be emptied always after taking any

of tbese antidotes, by a warm water emetic.

In case of bleeding at tbe lungs, or stomacb, or tbroat,

give a tea-spoonful of dry salt, and repeat it often. For

bleeding at tbe nose, put ice, or pour cold water on tbe

back of tbe neck, keeping tbe bead elevated.

If a person be struck witb ligbtning, tbrow pailfals of

cold water on tbe bead and body, and apply mustard poul-

tices on tbe stomacb, witb friction of tbe wbole body and

inflation of tbe lungs, as in tbe case of drowning. Tbe


same mode is to be used when persons are stupified by

fumes of coal, or bad air.

In thunderstorms, shut the doors and windows. The

safest part of a room is its centre ; and where there is a

feather-bed in the apartment, that will be found the most

secure resting-place.

A lightning-rod if it be well pointed, and run deep into

the earth, is a certain protection to a circle around it,

whose diameter equals the height of the rod above the

highest chimney. But it protects nofa/rther than this ex-

tent.

In case of fire, wrap about you a blanket, a shawl, a

piece of carpet, or any other woolen cloth, to serve as pro-

tection. Never read in bed, lest you fall asleep, and the

bed bo set on fire. If your clothes get on fire, never run,

but lie down, and roll about till you can reach a bed or

carpet to wrap yourself in, and thus put out the fire. Keepyoung childrei in woolen dresses, to save them from the

risk of fire.

XXYIII.

EvEET young girl should be taught to do the following

kinds of stitch with propriety : Over-stitch, hemming,running, felling, stitching, back-stitch and run, buttonhole-

stitch, chain-stitch, whipping, darning, gathering, and

cross-stitch.

In doing over-stitch, the edges should always be first

fitted, either with pins or basting, to prevent puckering.

In turning wide hems, a paper measure should be used, to

make them even. Tucks, also, should be regulated by a

paper measure. A fell should be turned, before the edges

are put together, and the seam should be over-sewed be-

fore felling. All biased or goring seams should be felled.

For stitching, draw a thread, and take up two or three

threads at a stitch.

In cutting buttonholes, it is best to have a pair of scis-

sors, made for the purpose, which cut very neatly. For

broadcloth, a chisel and board are better. The best stitch

is made by putting in the needle, and then turning the

thread round it near the eye. This is better than to draw

the needle through, and then take up a loop. A stay

thread should first be put across each side of the button-

hole, and also a bar at each end before working it. In

working the buttonhole, keep the stay thread as far from

the edge as possible. A small bar should be worked at

each end.

Whipping is done better by sewing over, and not under.

The roll should be as fine as possible, the stitches short.


the thread strong, and in. sewing, every gather should be

taken up.

The rule for gathering in shirts is, to draw a thread,

and then take up two threads and skip four. In darning,

after the perpendicular threads are run, the crossing

threads should interlace exactly, taking one thread and

leaving one, like woven threads. It is better to run a iine

thread around a hole and draw it together, and then darn

across it.

The neatest sewers always fit and baste their work be-

fore sewing ; and they say they always save time in the

end by so doing, as they never have to pick out work on

account of mistakes.

It is wise to sew closely and tightly all new garments

which will never be altered in shape; but some are

more nice than wise, in sewing frocks and old garments in

the same style. However, this is the least common ex-

treme. It is much more frequently the case that articles

which ought to be strongly and neatly made are sewed so

that a nice sewer would rather pick out the threads and

sew over again than to be annoyed with the sight of grin-

ning stitches, and vexed- with constant rips.

If the thread kinks in sewing, break it off and begin at

the other end. In using spool-cotton, thread the needle

with the end which comes off first, and not the end vhere

you break it off. This often prevents kinks.

Wm'li-baskets.—It is very important to neatness, comfort,

and success in sewing, that a lady's work-basket should

be properly fitted up. The following articles are needful

to the mistress of a family : a large basket to hold work

;

having in it fastened a smaller basket or box, containing a

needle-book in which are needles of every size, both blunts

and sharps with a larger number of those sizes most used

;

also small and large darning-needles, for woolen, cotton,

and silk ; two tape needles, large and small ; nice scissors

for fine work, button-hole scissors ; an emery bag ; two balls

SEWINO, CUTTING, AND MMNDIN&. 355

of white and yellow wax ; and two thimbles, in case one

should be mislaid. When a person is troubled with dampfingers, a lump pf soft chalk in a paper is useful to rub on

the ends of the fingers.

Besides this box, keep in the basket common scissors

;

small shears ; a bag containing tapes of all colors and sizes,

done up in rolls ; bags, one containing spools ofwhite and an-

other of colored cotton thread, and another for silks woundon spools or papers ; a box or bag for nice buttons, and•another for more common ones ; a bag containing silk braid,

welting,cords, and galloon binding. Small rolls of pieces

of white and brown linen and cotton are also often need-

ed. A brick pin-cushion is a great conyenience in sewing,

and better than screw cushions. It is made by covering

half a brick with cloth, putting a cushion on the top, and

covering it tastefully. It is very useful to hold pins and

needles while sewing, and to fasten long seams when bas-

ting and sewing.

To make a Frock.—The best way for a novice is to get a

dress fitted (not sewed) at the best mantua-maker's. Thentake out a sleeve, rip it to pieces, and cut out a paper pattern.

Then take out half of the waist, (it must have a seam in

fiônt,) and cut out a pattern of the back and fore-body, both

lining and outer part. In cutting the patterns, iron

the pieces smooth, let the paper be stiff, and with a pin

prick holes in the paper, to show the gore in front and the

depths of the seams. "With a pen and ink, draw lines

from each pin-hole to preserve this mark. Then baste the

parts together again, in doing which the unbasted half will

serve as a pattern. When this is done, a lady of commoningenuity can cut and fit a dress by these patterns. If the

waist of a dress be too tight, the seam under the arm must

be let out ; and in cutting a dress an allowance should be

made for letting it out if needful, at this seam.

The linings for the waists of dresses should be stiffened

with cotton or linen. In cutting bias-pieces for trimming,


they will not set well unless they are exact. In cutting tliem,

use a long rule, and a lead pencil or piece of chalk. Welt-

ing-cords should be covered with bias-pieces ; and it saves

time, in many cases, to baste on the welting-cord at the

same time that you cover it. The best way to put on

hooks and eyes is to sew them on double broad tape, and

sew this on the frock lining. They can be moved easily,

and do not show where they are sewed on.

In putting on linings of skirts at the bottom, be careful

to have it a very little fuller than the dress, or it will shrink

and look badly. All thin silks look much better with

lining, and last much longer, as do aprons also. In putting

a lining to a dress, baste it on each separate breadth, and

sew it at the seams, and it looks much better than to have

it fastened only at the bottom. Make notches in selvedge,

to prevent it from drawing up the breadth. Dresses

which are to be washed should not be lined.

Figured silks do not generally wear well if the figure be

large and satin-like. Black and plain-colored silks can be

tested by procuring samples, and making creases in them

;

fold the creases in a bunch, and rub them against a rough

surface of moreen or carpeting. Those which are poor

will soon wear off at the creases.

Plaids look, becoming for tall women, as they shorten

the appearance of the figure. Stripes look becoming on a

large person, as they reduce the apparent size. Pale per-

sons should not wear blue or green, and brunettes should

not wear light delicate colors, except shades of buff, fawn,

or straw color. Pearl white is not good for any complex-

ion. Dead white a^d black look becoming on almost all

persons. It is best to try colors by candle-light for evening

dresses, as some colors which look very handsome in the

dayHght are very homely when seen by candle-light.

Never be in haste to be first in a fashion, and never go to

the extremes.

Linen and Ootton.—In buying linen, seek for that which

SEWmG, CUTTING, AND MENDING. 357

has a round close thread and is perfectly white ; for if it

be not white at first, it will never afterward become so.

Much that is called linen at the shops is half cotton, anddoes not wear so well as cotton alone. Cheap linens are

usually of this kind. It is difficult to discover which are

aU linen ; but the best way is to find a lot presumed to be

good, take a sample, wash it, and ravel it. If this be good,

the rest of the same lot will probably be so. If you can

not do this, draw a thread each way, and , if both appear

equally strong it is probably all linen. Linen and cotton

must be put in clean water, and boiled, to get out the

starch, and then ironed.

A " long piece " of linen, a yard wide, will, with care and

calculation, make eight shirts. In cutting it, take a shirt

of the right size as a guide in fitting and basting. Bosom-

pieces and false collars must be cut and fitted by patterns

which suit the person for whom the articles are designed.

Gentlemen's night-shirts are made like other shirts, except

that they are longer, and do not have bosoms and cuffs

for starching.

In cutting chemises, if the cotton or linen is a yard

wide, cut off small half-gores at the top of the breadths

and set them on the bottom. Use a long rule and

a pencil in cutting gores. In cutting cotton which is

quite wide, a seam can be saved by cutting out two at once,

in this manner : cut off three breadths, and with a long

rule and a pencil, mark and cut off the gores ; thus from

one breadth cut off two gores the whole length, each gore

one fourth of the breadth at the bottom, and tapering off

to a point at the top. The other two breadths are to

have a gore cut off jfrom each, which is one fourth wide at

the top and two fourths at bottom. Arrange these pieces

right and they will make two chemises, one having four

seams and the other three. This is a much easier way of

cutting than sewing the three breadths together in bag

fashion, as is often done. The biased or goring seams


must always be felled. The sleeves and neck can be cut

according to the taste of the wearer, by another chemise

for a pattern. There should be a lining around the arm-

holes and stays at all corners. Six yards of yard width

will make two chemises.

Long night-gowns are best cut a little goring. It re-

quires five yards for a long night-gown, and two and a

half for a short one. Linen night caps wear longer than

cotton ones, and do not like them turn yellow. They

should be ruffled with linen, as cotton borders will not

last so long as the cap. A double-quilted wrapper is a

great comfort, in case of sickness. It may be made of

two old dresses. It should not be cut full, but rather like

a gentleman's study-gown, having no gathers or plaits, but

large enough to slip off and on with ease. A double-gown

of calico is also very useful. Most articles of dress, for

grown persons or children, require patterns.

Old silk dresses quilted for skirts are very serviceable.

White flannel is soiled so easily and shrinks so much in wash-

ing that it is a good plan to color it. Cotton flannel is also

good for common skirts. In makingup flannel, back-stitch

and run the seams and then cross-stitch them open. Nice

flannel for infants can be ornamented with very little

expense of time, by turning up the hem on the right side,

and making a little vine at the edge with saddler's silk.

The stitch of the vine is a modification of button-hole stitch.

Mending. Silk dresses will last much longer, by ripping

out the sleeves when thin, and changing the arms and also

the breadths of the skirt. Tumbled black silk, which is

old and rusty, should be dipped in water, then be drained

for a few minutes, without squeezing or pressing, and then

ironed. Coffee or cold tea is better than water. Sheets

when worn thin in the middle should be ripped, and the

other edges sewed together. "Window-curtains last muchlonger if lined, as the sun fades and rots them.

Broadcloth should be cut with reference to the way the

SEWING, CUTTING, AND MENDING. 359

nap rims. When pantaloons are thin, it is best to newly-seat them, cutting the piece inserted in a curve, as corners

are difficult to fit. Hose can be cut down when the feet

are worn. Take an old stocking and cut it up for a pat-

tern. Make the heel short. In sewing, turn each edgeand run it down, and then sew over the edges. This is

better than to stitch and then cross-stitch. " Eun " thin

places in stockings, and it will save darning a hole. If

shoes are worn through on the sides, ia the upper-lealher,

slip pieces of broadcloth under, and sew them around the

holes.

Bedding. The best beds are thick hair mattresses,

which for persons in health are good for winter as well as

summer use. Mattresses may also be made of husks, dried

and drawn into shreds ; also of alternate layers of cotton

and moss. The most profitable sheeting is the Russian,

which wiU last three times as long as any other. It is

never perfectly white. Unbleached cotton is good for win-

ter. It is poor economy to make narrow and short sheets,

as children and domestics will always slip them ofi", and

soil the bed-tick and bolster. They should be three yards

long, and two and a half wide, so that they can be tucked

in all around'. All bed-linen should be marked and num-

bered, so that a bed can always be made properly, and all

missing articles be known.

XXIX.

FIEES AND LIGHTS.

A. SHALLOW fireplace saTes wood and gives out more lieat

tlian a deeper one. A false back of brick may be put up

in a deep fireplace. Hooks for holding up the shovel and

tongs, a hearth-brush and bellows, and brass knobs to hang

them on, should be furnished to every fireplace. An iron

bar across the andirons aids in keeping the fire safe and in

good order. Steel furniture is neater, handsomer, and

more easily kept in order than that made of brass.

Use green wood for logs, and mix green and dry woodfor the fire ; and then the wood-pile will last much longer.

"Walnut, maple; hickory, and oak wood are best ; chestnut

or hemlock is bad, because it snaps. Do not buy a load in

which there are many crooked sticks. Learn how to mea-

sure and calculate the solid contents of a load, so as not to

be cheated. A cord of wood should be equivalent to a pile

eight feet long, four feet wide and four feet high ; that ie,

it contains (8x4x4=128) one hundred and twenty-eight

cubic or solid feet. A city " load " is usually one third of

a cord. Have all your wood split and piled undercover for winter. Have the green wood logs in one pile,

dry wood in another, oven-wood in another, kindlings andchips in another, and a supply of charcoal to use for broil-

ing and ironing in another place. Have a brick bin for

ashes, and never allow them to be put in wood. Whenquitting fires at night, never leave a burning stick across

the andirons, nor on its end, without quenching it. Seethat no fire adheres to the broom or brush, remove aU arti-

IJRES AND LIGMTS. 361

cles from the fire, and have two pails filled with water in

the kitchen where they will not freeze.

STOVES AND GBATBS.

Kooms heated by stoves should always have some open-

ing for the admission of fresh air, or they will be injurious

to health. The dryness of the air, which they occasion,

should be remedied by placing a vessel fiUed with water

on the stove, otherwise, the lungs or eyes will be injured.

A large number of plants in a room prevents this dryness

of the air. Where stove-pipes pass through fire-boards, the

hole in the wood should be much larger than the pipe, so

that there may be no danger of the wood taking fire. Theunsightly opening thus occasioned should be covered with

tin. When pipes are carried through floors or partitions,

they should always pass either through earthen crocks,

or what are known as tin stove-pipe thimbles, which maybe found in any stove store or tinsmith's. Lengthening a

pipe wiU increase its draught.

For those who use cmthracite coal, that which is broken

or screened is best for grates, and the nut-coal for small

stoves. Three tons are sufficient in the Middle States, and

four tons in the Northern, to keep one fire through the

winter. That which is bright, hard, and clean is best

;

and that which is soft, porous, and covered with damp dust

is poor. It wiU be well to provide two barrels of charcoal

for kindling to every ton of anthracite coal. Grrates for

hituminous coal should have a flue nearly as deep as the

grate ; and the bars should be round and not close togeth-

er. The better draught there is, the less coal-dust is made.

Every grate should be furnished with a poker, shovel,

tongs, blower, coal-scuttle, and holder for the blower. The

latter may be made of woolen, covered with old silk, and

hung near the fire.

Ooal-stoves should be carefully put up, as cracks in the

pipe, especially in sleeping rooms, are dangerous.


LIGHTS.

Professor Phin, of the Mcmufacim'er and Builder, has

kindly given us some late information on this important

topic, which will be found valuable.

In choosing the source of our light, the great points to be

considered are, first, the influence on the eyes, and second-

ly, economy. It is poor economy to use a bad Kght.

Modern houses in cities, and even in large villages, are

furnished with gas ; where gas is not used, sperm-oil, kero-

sene or coal-oil, and candles are employed. Gas is the

cheapest, (or ought to be ;) and if properly used, is as good

as any. Good sperm-oil burned in an Argand lamp—that is,

a lamp with a circular wick, like the astral lamp and

others—is perhaps the best ; but it is expensive and attend-

ed with many inconveniences. Good kerosene oil gives a

light which leaves little to be desired. Candles are used

only on rare occasions, though many families prefer to

manufacture into candles the waste grease that accumu-

lates in the household. The economy of any source of

light will depend so much upon local circumstances that

no absolute directions can be given.

The effect produced by light on the eyes depends upon

the following points : First, Steadiness. Nothing is

more injurious to the eyes than a flickering, unsteady

flame.' Hence, all flames used for light-giving purposes

ought to be surrounded with glass chimneys or small

shades. Iô naked flame can ever be steady. Second,

Color. This depends greatly upon the temperature of the

flame. A hot flame gives a bright, white light ; a flame

which has not a high temperature gives a dull, yeUowlight, which is very injurious to the eyes. In the nakedgas-jet a large portion of the flame burns at a low tempe-

rature, and the same is the case with the flame of the kero

sene lamp when the height of the chimney is not properly

proportioned to the amount of oil consumed ; a high wick

needs a high chimney. In the case of a well-trimmed Ar

FIRES AND LI6BTS. 363

gand oil-lamp, or an Argand burner for gas, the flame is

in general, most intensely hot, and the light is of a clear

white character.

The third point which demands attention is the amovMt

of heat transmitted from the flame to the eyes. It often

happens that people, in order to economize light, bring the

lamp quite plose to the face. This is a very bad habit.

The heat is more injurious than the light. Better burn a

larger flaine, and keep it at a greater distance.

It is also well that various sized lamps should be pro-

vided to serve the varying necessities of the household in

regard to quantity of light. One of the very best forms

of lamp is that known as the " student's reading-lamp,"

which is, in the burner, an Argand. Provide small lamps

with handles for carrying abouj;, and broad-bottomed lamps

for the kitchen, as theBe are not easily upset. Hand and

•kitchen lamps are' best made of metal, unless they are to

be used by very careful persons.

Sperm-oil, lard, tallow, etc., have been superseded to

such an extent by kerosene that it is scarcely worth while

to give any special directions in regard to them. In the

choice of kerosene, attention should be paid to two pbints :

its safety and its light-giving qualities. Kerosene is not a

simplle fluid, like water ; but is a mixture of several

liquids, all of which boil at different temperatures. Goodkerosene oil should be purifled from all that portion which

boils or evaporates at a low temperature ; for it is the

production of this vapor, and its mixture with atmospheric

air, that gives rise to those terrible explosions which some-

times occur when a light is brought near a can of poor oil.

To test the oil in this respect, pour a little into an iron

spoon, and heat it over a lamp until it is moderately warm

to the touch. If the oil produces vapor which can be set

on fire by means of a flame held a short distance above the

surface of the liquid, it is bad. Good oil poured into a

teacup or on the floor does not easily take fire when a

364 THE HOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL

light is brought in contact with it. Poor oil will instantly

ignite under the same circumstances, and hence, the

breaking of a lamp filled with poor oil is always attended

by great peril of a conflagration. Not only the safety but

also the light-giving qualities of kerosene are greatly en-

hanced by the removal of these volatile and dangerous oils.

Hence, while good kerosene should be clear in color and

free from all matters which can gum up the wick and thus

interfere with free circulation and combustion, it should

also be perfectly safe. It ought to be kept in a cool, dark

place, and carefully excluded from the air.

The care, of lamps requires so much attention and discre-

tion, that many ladieB choose to do this work themselves,

rather than trust it with domestics. To do it properly,

provide the following things : an old waiter to hold all the

articles used ; a lamp-filler, with a spotitj small at the end,

and tm'ned up to prevent oil from dripping;proper wicks,

and a basket or box to hold them ; a lamp-trimmer madefor the purpose, or a pair of sharp scissors ; a small soap-

cup and soap ; some washing soda in a broad-mouthedbottle; and several soft cloths to wash the articles andtowels to wipe them. If every thing, after being used, is

cleansed from oil and then kept neatly, it will not be so

unpleasant a task as it usually is, to take care of lamps.

The inside of lamps and oil-cans should be cleansed withsoda dissolved in water. Be careful to drain them well,

and not to let any gilding or bronze be injured by thesoda coming in contact with it. Put one table-spoonful

of soda to one quart of "water. Take the lamp to pieces

and clean it as often as necessary. Wipe the chimney at

least once a day, and wash it whenever mere wiping fails to

cleanse it. Some persons, owing to the dirty state of their

chimneys, lose half the light which is produced. Keep dryfingers in trimming lamps. Kcnew the wicks before theyget too short. They should never be allowed to burnshorter than an inch and a half.

MBES AND LIGHTS. 365

In regard to shades, which are always well to use, odlamps or gas, those made of glass or porcelain are now so

cheap that we can recommend them as the best without

any reservation. Plain shades, making the light soft andeven, do not injure the eyes. Lamps should be lighted

with a strip of folded or rolled paper, of which a quantity

sliould be kept on the mantelpiece. "Weak eyes should

always be especially shaded from the lights. Small

screens, made for the purpose, should be kept at hand. Aperson with weak eyes can use them safely much longer

when they are protected from the glare of the light. Fill

the entry-lamp every day, and cleanse and fill night-lan-

terns twice a week, if used often. A good night-lamp is

made with a small one-wicked lamp and a roll of tin to

set over it. Have some holes made in the bottom of this

cover, and it can then be used to heat articles. Yerycheap floating tapers can be bought to burn in a teacup

of oil through the night.

TO MASE CAI7DLES.

The nicest candles are those run in moulds. For this

purpose, -melt together one quarter of a pound of white

wax, one quarter of an ounce of camphor, two ounces of

alum, and ten ounces of suet or mutton-tallow. Soak the

wicks in lime-water and saltpetre, and when dry, fix them

iu the moulds and pour in the melted tallow. Let them

remain one night to cool ; then warm them a little to loos-

en them, draw them out, and when they are hard, put them

in a box ia a dry and cool place.

To make dipped candles, cut the wicks of the right

length, double them over rods, and twist them. They

should first be dipped in lime-water or vinegar, and dried.

Melt the tallow ia a large kettle, filling it to the top with

hot water, when the tallow is melted. Put in wax and

powdered alum, to harden them. Keep the tallow hot


over a portable fiirnace, and fill the kettle with hot watei

as fast as the tallow is used up. Lay two long strips of

narrow board on which to hang the rods ; and set flat pans

under, on the floor, to catch the grease. Take several rods

at once, and wet the wicks in the tallow ; straighten and

smooth them when cool. Then dip them as fast as they

cool, until they become of the proper size. Plunge ihemobliquely and not perpendicularly ; and when the bottoms

are too large, hold them in the hot grease till a part melts

off Let them remain one night to cool ; then cut off the

bottoms, and keep them in a dry, cool place. Cheap lights

are made, by dipping rushes in tallow ; the rushes being

first stripped of nearly the whole of the hard outer cover-

ing and the pith alone being retained with just enough of

the tough bark to keep it stiff.

THE OABE OF KOOMB.

It would be impossible in a work dealing, as this does

with general principles of house-keeping, to elaborate in

full the multitudinous details which arise for attention and

intelligent care. These will be more largely treated of in

the book soon to be published for the present writer, (the

senior authoress of this volume.) Yet, in the different

departments of family labor, there are certain leading

matters concerning which & few hints may be found useful

in aiding the reader to carry into operation the instruc-

tions and ideas of the earlier chapters of this book, and in

promoting the general comfort and conrenience of fami-

lies.

And first, asking the reader to bear in mind that these

suggestions are chiefly applicable to country homes, not

within easy reach of all the conveniences which go under

the name of " modern improvements," we will say a few

words on the care of Parlors.

In hanging pictures, put them so that the lower part

shall be opposite the eye. Cleanse the glass of pictures

with whiting, as water endangers the pictures. Gilt

frames can be much better preserved by putting on a coat

of copal varnish^ which with proper brushes, can be bought

of carriage or cabinet-makers. When dry, it can be

washed with fair water. Wash the brush in spirits of tur-

pentine.

Curtains, ottomans, and sofas covered with worsted, can be

cleansed with wheat bran, rubbed on with flannel. Shadee


of linen or cotton, on rollers and pulleys, are always useful

to shut out the sun from curtains and carpets. Paper cur

tains, pasted on old cotton, are good for chambers. Put

them on rollers, having cords nailed to them, so that when

the curtain falls, the cord will be wound up. Then, by

pulling the cord, the curtain 's^'ll be rolled up.

Yarnished furniture should be rubbed only with silk, ex-

cept occasionally, when a little sweet-oil should be rubbed

over, and wiped off carefully. For unvarnished furniture,

use bees-wax, a little softened with sweet-oil ; rub it in with

a hard brush, and polish with woolen and silk rags. Somepersons rub in linseed-oil ; others mix bees-wax with a little

spirits of turpentine and rosin, making it so that it can be

put on with a sponge, and wiped off with a soft rag. Oth-

ers keep in a bottle the following mixtm-e : two ounces of

spirits of turpentine, four table-spoonfuls of sweet-oil, and

one quart of milk. This is applied with a sponge, and

wiped off with a linen rag.

Hearths and jambs, of brick, look best painted over with

black lead, mixedwith soft-soap. "Wash the bricks which

are nearest the fire- with redding and milk, using a painter's

brush. A sheet of zinc, covering the whole hearth, is

cheap, saves work, and looks very well. A tinman can fit

it properly.

, Stone hearths should be rubbed with a paste of powderedstone, (to be procured of the stone-cutters,) and then brushed

with a stiff brush. Kitchen hearths, of stpne, are improvedby rubbing in lamp-oil.

Stains can be removed from marble, by oxalic acid andwater, or oil of vitriol and water, left on a few minutes,

and then rubbed dry. Gray marble is improved by lin-

seed-oil. Grease can be taken from marble, by ox-gall andpotter's clay wet with soapsuds, (a gill of each.) It is bet-

ter to add, also, a gill of spirit's of turpentine. It improvesthe looks of marble, to cover it with this mixture, leaving

it two days, and then rubbing it off.

THE CARE OF ROOMS. 369

Unless a parlor is in constant use, it is best to sweep it

only once a week, and at other times use a whisk-broom

and dust-pan. When a parlor with handsome furniture

is to be swept, cover the sofas, centre table, piano, books,

and mantelpiece with old cottons kept for the purpose.

Remove the rugs and shake them, and clean the jambs,

hearth, and fire-farniture. Then sweep the room, movingevery article. Dust the furniture with a dust-brush and a

piece of old silk. A painter's brush should be kept, to re-

move dust from ledges and crevices. The dust-cloths

should be often shaken and washed, or else they wUl soil

the walls and fiirniture when they are used. Dust orna-

ments and fine books with feather brushes, used for no

other purpose.

Chambers and Bedrooms are of course a portion of the

house to be sedulously and scrupulously attended to, if

either health or comfort are aimed at in the family. Andfirst, every mistress of a family should see, not only that

all sleeping-rooms in her house can be well ventilated at

night, but that they actually are so. Where there is no

provision made for the introduction of pure air, in the con-

struction of the house, and in the bedroom itself no open

fire-place to allow the easy exit of foul air, a door should

be left open into an entry or room where fresh air is

admitted; or else a small opening should be made in a

window, taking care not to allow a draught of air to cross

the bed. The debility of childhood, the lassitude of domes-

tics, and the ill-health of families, are often caused by ne-

glecting to provide a supply of pure air.

It is not deemed necessary to add much to the earlier

chapters treating of bedroom conveniences ; but one sub-

ject is of marked importance, as being characteristic of

good or poor housekeeping—that is, the making of beds.

Few servants will make a bed properly, without much

attention from the mistress of the family*; and every young

woman who expects to have a household of her own tc


manage should be able to do it well herself, and to instruct

others in doing it. The following directions should be

given to those who do this work

:

Open the windows, and lay off the bed-covering on two

chairs, at the foot of the bed. If it be a feather-bed, after

it is well aired, shake the feathers from each corner to the

middle ; then take up the middle, shake it well, and turn

the bed over. Then push the feathers in place,'making

the heai^d higher than the foot, and the sides even, and as

high as the middle part. A mattress, whether used on top

of a feather- bed or by itself, should in like manner be well

aired and turned. Then put on the bolster and the under

sheet, so that the wrong side of the sheet shall go next the

bed, and the marJcing always come at the head, tucking in

all around. Then put on the pillows, evenly, so that the'

open ends shall come to the sides of the bed, and spread

on the upper sheet so that the wrong side shall be next

the blankets, and the marked end always at the head.

This arrangement of sheets is to prevent the part wherethe feet lie from being reversed, so as to come to the face

;

and also to prevent the parts soiled by the body from com-ing to the bedtick and blankets. Put on the other cover-

ing, except the outer one, tucking in all around, and then

turn over the upper sheet at the head, so as to show a part

of the pillows. When the pillow-cases are clean andsmooth, they look best outside of the cover, but not other-

wise. Then draw the hand along the side of the pillows,

to make an even indentation, and then smooth and shapethe whole outside. A nice housekeeper always notices the

manner in which a bed is made ; and in some parts of the

country, it is rare to see this work properly performed.The wi-iter would here urge every mistress of a family,

who keeps more than one domestic servant, to provide

them with single beds, that they might not be obliged to

sleep with aU the changing domestics, who come and goso often. Where the room is too small for two beds, a nar-

TJSE CABB OF ROOMS. 371

row truckle-bed kept under anotlier during the day will

answer. Domestics should be furnisbed with washing

conveniences in their chambers, and be encouraged to keep

their persons and rooms neat and in order.

The care of the Kitchen, Cellar, and Storeroom is necessa-

r'ly the foundation of all proper housekeeping.

If parents wish their daughters to grow up with good

domestic habits, they should have, as one means of secur-

ing this result, a neat and cheerful kitchen. A kitchen

"should always, if possible, be entirely above-ground, and

well lighted. It should have a large sink, with a drain

running under-ground, so that all the premises may be

kept sweet and clean. If iiowers and shrubs be cultivated

around the doors and windows, and the yard near them

be kept well turfed, it will add very much to their agreeable

appearance. The walls should often be cleaned and white-

washed, to promote a neat look and pure air. The floor

of a kitchen should be painted, or, what is better, covered

with an oilcloth. To procure a kitchen oilcloth as cheaply

as possible, buy cheap tow cloth, and fit it to the size and

shape of the kitchen. Then have it stretched, and nailed

to the south side of the bam, and, with a brush, cover it

with a coat of thin rye paste. When this is dry, put on a

coat of yellow paint, and let it dry for a fortnight. It is

safest to first try the paint, and see if it dries well, as some

paint never will dry. Then put on a second coat, and at

the end of .another fortnight, a third coat. Then let it

hang two months, and it will last, uninjured, for many

years. The longer the paint is left to dry, the better. If

varnished, it will last much longer.

A sink should be scalded out every^ day, and occasionally

with hot lye. On nails, over the sink, should be hung

three good dish-cloths, hemmed, and furnished with loops

;

one for dishes not greasy, one for greasy dishes, and one

for washing greasy pots and kettles. These should be put

in the wash every week. The lady who insists upon this


will not be annoyed by kaving her disbes wasbed with

dark, musty and greasy rags, as is too frequently the case.

Under tbe sink sbould be kept a slop-pail ; and, on a

sbelf by it, a soap-dish and two water-pails. A large boiler

of warm soft water should always be kept over the fire,

well covered, and a hearth-broom and bellows be hung

Qear the fire. A clock is a very important article in the

kitchen, in order to secure regularity at meals.

WASHING DISHES.

'No item of domestic labor iS so frequently done in a

negligent manner, by domestics, as this. A full siipply of

conveniences will do much toward the remedy of this evil.

A swab, made of strips of linen tied to a stick, is useful

to wash nice dishes, especially small, deep articles. Twoor three towels, and three dish-cloths should be used. Twolarge tin tubs, painted on the outside, should be provided

;

one for washing, and one for rinsing; also, a large old

waiter, on which to drain the dishes. A soap-dish, with

hard soap, and a fork, with which to use it, a slop-pail, and

two pails for water, should also be furnished. The follow-

ing rules for washing dishes will aid in promoting the de-

sired care and neatness

:

1. Scrape the dishes, putting away any food which mayremain on them, and which it may be proper to save for

future use. Put grease into the grease-pot, and whatever

else may be on the plates into the slop-pail. Save tea-

leaves for sweeping. Set all the dishes, when scraped, in

regular piles, the smallest at the top.

2. Put the nicest articles in the wash-dish, and wash

them in hot suds with the swab or nicest dish-cloth.

Wipe all metal articles as soon as they are washed. Put

all the rest into the rinsing-dish, which should be filled with

hot water. When they are taken out, lay them to drain

on the waiter. Then rinse the dish-cloth, and hang it upwipe the articles washed, and put them in their places.'

THE CASH OF BOOMS. 373

3. Pour in more hot water, wash the greasy dislies withthe dish-cloth made for them, rinse them, and set them todrain. Wipe them, and set them away. "Wash the knivesand forks, being cwreful that the handles are never put in wa-ter; wipe them, and then lay them in a knife-dish, to bescoured.

4. Take a fresh supply of clean suds, 'in which washthe milk-pans, buckets, and tins. Then rinse and hang upthis dish-cloth, and take the other, with which, wash theroaster, gridiron, pots, and kettles. Then wash and rinse

the dish-cloth, and hang it up. Empty the slop-bucket,

and scald it. Dry metal teapots and tins before the. fire.

Then put the fire-place in order, and sweep and dust the

kitchen.

Some persons keep a deep and narrow vessel, in whichto wash knives with a swab, so that a careless servant can

not lay them ia the water while washing them. This arti-

cle can be carried into the eating-room, to receive the

knives and forks when they are taken from the table.

KITCHEN FUENITUBE.

Grochery.—Brown earthen pans are said to be best for

milk and for cooking. Tin pans are lighter, and more con-

venient, but are too cold for many pm-posfis. Tall earthen

jars, with covers, are good to hold butter, salt, lard, etc.

Acids should never be put into the red earthen ware, as

there is a poisonous ingredient in the glazing which the

acid takes off. Stone ware is better and stronger, and

safer every way than any other kind.

Iron Ware.—^Many kitchens are very imperfectly supplied

with the requisite conveniences for cooking. When a per-

son has sufficient means, the following articles are all de-

sirable : A nest of iron pots, of different sizes, (they should

be slowly heated when new,) a long iron fork, to take out

articles from boiling water ; an iron hook, with a handle, to

lift pots from the crane ; a large and small gridiron, witl*


grooved bars, and a trench to eatcli the grease ; a Dutch

oven, called also a bake-pan ; two skillets, of different sizes,

and a spider, or flat skillet, for frying; a griddle, a waffle-

iron, tin and iron bake and bread pans ; two ladles, of dif-

ferent sizes ; a skimmer ; iron skewers ; a toasting-iron

;

two teakettles, one small and one large one ; two brass ket-

tles, o'f different sizes, for soap-boiling, etc. Iron kettles,

lined with porcelain, are better for preserves. The German

are the best. Too hot a fire will crack them, but with

care in this respect, they will last for many years.

Portable charcoal furnaces, of iron or clay, are very

useful in summer, in washing, ironing, and stewing, or

making preserves. If used in the house, a strong draught

must be made, to prevent the deleterious effects of the

charcoal. A box and mill, for spice, pepper, and coffee,

are needful to those who use these articles. Strong knives

and forks, a sharp carving-knife, an iron cleaver and board,

a fine saw, steelyards, chopping-tray and knife, an apple-

parer, steel for sharpening knives, sugar-nippers, a dozen

iron spoons, also a large iron one with a long handle, six

or eight flat-irons, one of them very small, two iron-stands,

a ruffle-iron, a crimping-iron, are also desirable.

Tin Ware.—Bread-pans ; large and small patty-pans;

cake-pans, with a centre tube to insure their baking well

;

pie-dishes, (of block-tin ;) a covered butter-kettle ; covered

kettles to hold berries ; two sauce-pans ; a large oil-can;

(with a cock ;) a lamp-filler ; a lantern ; broad bottomed

candlesticks for the kitchen ; a candle-box ; a funnel ; a

reflector for baking warm cakes ; an oven or tin-kitchen

;

an apple-corer ; an apple-roaster ; an egg-boiler ; two su-

gar-scoops, and flour and meal-scoop ; a set of mugs

;

three dippers ; a pint, quart, and gallon measure ; a set of

scales and weights ; three or four pails, painted on the out-

side ; a slop-bucket with a tight cover, painted on the out-

side ; a milk-strainer ; a gravy-strainer ; a colander ; a dredg-

ing-box ; a pepper-box ; a large and small grater ; a cheese-

TBE CARE OF BOOMS. 376

box ; also a large box for cake, and a still larger one for

bread, with tight covers. Bread, cake, and cheese, shutup in this way, will not grow dry as in the open air.

Wooden Ware.—A nest of tubs; a set of pails and'bowls ; a large and small sieve ; a beetle for mashing po-

tatoes; a spade or stick for stirring butter and sugar ; a

bread-board, for-moulding bread and making pie-crust ; a

coffee-stick ; a clothes-stick ; a mush-stick ; a meat-beetle,

to pound tough meat ; an egg-beater ; a ladle, for workingbutter

J a bread-trough, (for a large family ;) flour-buckets,

with lids, to hold sifted flour and Indian meal ; salt-boxes

;

sugar-boxes ; starch and indigo-boxes ; spice-boxes ; a bo-

som-board; a skirt-board ; a large ironing-board; two or

three clothes-frames ; and six dozen clothes-pins.

Basket Ware.—Baskets of all sizes, for eggs, fruit, mar-

keting, clothes, etc. ; also chip-baskets. "When often used,

they should be washed in hot suds.

Other Articles.—Every kitchen needs a box containing

balls of brown thread and twine, a large and small darn-

ing needle, rolls of waste paper and old linen and cotton,

and a supply of common holders. There should also be

another box, containing a hammer, carpet-tacks, and nails

of all fiizes, a carpet-claw, screws and a screw-driver, pin-

cers, gimlets of several sizes, a bed-screw, a small saw, two

chisels, (one to use for button-holes in broadcloth,) two

awls and two files.

In a drawer or cupboard should be placed cotton table-

cloths for kitchen use; nice crash towels for tumblers,

' marked T T ; coarser towels for dishes map"ked T ; six

large roller-towels ; a dozen hand-towels, marked H T

;

and a dozen hemmed dish-cloths with loops. Also two

thick linen pudding or dumpling-cloths, a jelly-bag made

of white flannel, to strain jelly, a starch-strainer, and a bag

for boiling clothes.

• In a closet should be kept, arranged in order, the follow-

ing articles : the dust-pan, dust-brush, and dusting-cloths,


old flan]iel and cotton for scouring and rubLing, large

sponges for washing windows and looking-glasses, a long

brush for cobwebs, and another for washing the outside

of windows, whisk-brooms, common brooms, a coat-broom

or brush, a whitewash-brush, a stove-brush, shoe-brushes

and blacking, articles for cleaning tin and silver, leather

for cleaning metals, bottles containing stain-mixtures and

other articles used in cleansing.

CAEB OF THE CBLLAB.

A collar should often be whitewashed, to keep it sweet.

It should have a drain to keep it perfectly dry, as standing

water in a cellar is a sure cause of disease in a family. It

is very dangerous to leave decayed vegetables in a cellar.

Many a fever has been caused by the poisonous miasm thus

generated. The following articles are desirable in a cel-

lar : a safe, or movable closet, with sides of wire or perfo-

rated tin, in wliich cold meats, cream, and other articles

should be kept;

(if ants be troublesome, set the legs in tin

cups of water ;) a refrigerator, or a large wooden-box, onfeet, with a lining of tin or zinc, and a space between the

tin and wood filled with powdered charcoal, having at the

bottom a place for ice, a drain to carry off the water, andalso movable shelves and partitions. In this, articles are

kept cool.' It should be cleaned once a week. Filtering

jars to purify water should also be kept in the cellar.

Fish and cabbages in a cellar are apt to scent a house, andgive a bad taste to other articles.

STOBEROOM.

Every house needs a storeroom, in which to keep tea,

coffee, sugar, rice, candles, etc. It should be furnishedwith jars, having labels, a large spoon, a fork, sugar andflour-scoops, a towel, and a dish-cloth.

THE CARE OF ROOMS. 311

MODES OF DESTROYING INSECTS AND VERMIN.

Bed-lugs should be kept away, by filling every chiuk in

tbe bedstead with putty, and if it be old, painting it over.

Of aU the mixtures for killing them, corrosvoe sublimate

and alcohol is the surest. This is a strong poison.

Cockroaches may be destroyed by pouring boiling waterinto their haunts, or setting a mixture of arsenic mixedwith Indian meal and molasses where they are found.

Chloride of lime and sweetened water will also poison

them.

Fleas.—If a dog be infested with these insects, put himin a tub of warm soapsuds, and they will rise to the sur-

face. Take them off, and burn them. Strong perfumes

about the person diminish their attacks. "When caught

between the fingers, plunge them in water, or they will

escape.

Orickets.—Scalding, and sprinkling Scotch snuff about

the haunts of these insects, are remedies for the annoyance

caused by them.

Flies can be killed in great quantities, by placing about

the house vessels filled with sweetened water and cobalt.

Six cents' worth of cobalt is enough for a pint of water.

It is very poisonous.

Mosquitoes.—Close nets around a bed are the only sure

protection at night against these insects. Spirits of harts-

liorn is the best antidote for their bite. Salt and water is

good.

Sed or Jilack Ants may be driven away by scalding

their haunts, and putting Scotch snuff wherever they go

for food. Set the legs of closets and safes in pans of water

and they can not get at them.

Moths.—Airing clothes does not destroy moths, but lay-

ing them in a hot sun does. If articles be tightly sewed

up in linen when laid away, and fine tobacco put about

them, it Js a sure protection. This should be done in

April

378 TEE ROVSEKEEPBR'S MANUAL.

Hats cmd Mice.—A good cat is the best remedy for these

annoyances. Equal quantities of hemlock (or oicuta) and

old cheese will poison them ; but this renders the house lia-

ble to the inconvenience of a bad smell. This evil, however,

may be lessened, by placing a dish containing oil of vitriol

poured on saltpetre where the smell is most annoying.

Chloride of lime and water is also good.

In using any of the above-mentioned poisons, great care

should be taken to guard against their getting into any

article of food or any utensil or vessel used for cooking or

keeping food, or where childi-en can get at them.

XXXI.

THE "OAEE OF TAED8 AND GAKDENS.

FiEST, let US say a few words on the Pr&pa/raUon of Soil.

If the garden soil be clayey and adhesive, put on a covering

of sand, three iaches thick, and the same depth of well-rot-

ted manure. Spade it in as deep as possible, and mix it well.

If the soil be sandy and loose, spade in clay and ashes.

Ashes are good for all kinds of soU, as they loosen those

which are close, hold moisture in those which are sandy,

and destroy insects. The best kind of soil is that whichwin hold water the longest without becomiug hard whendry.

To prepare Soil for Pot-plants, take one fourth part of

common soil, one fourth part of well-decayed manure, and

one half of vegetable mould, from the woods or from a

chip-yard. Break up the manure fine, and sift it through

a lime-screen, (or coarse wire sieve.) These materials must

be thoroughly mixed. When the common soil which is

used is adhesive, and indeed in most other cases, it is ne-

cessary to add sand, the proportion of which must depend

on the nature of the soil.

To Prepm-6 a Hot-Bed, dig a pit six feet long, five feet

wide, and thirty inches deep. Make a frame of the same size,

• with the back two feet high, the front fifteen inches, and the

sides sloped from the back to the front. Make two sashes,

each three feet by five, with the panes of glass lapping

like shingles instead of having cross-bars. Set the frame

over the pit, which should then be filled with fresh horse-

dung, which has not lain long nor been sodden by water.

380 TEE HOUSEKEEPER'B MANUAL.

Tread it aown hard ; then put into the frame light and

very rich soil, six or eight inches deep, and cover it with

the sashes for two or three days. Then stir the soil, and

sow the seeds in shallow drills, placing sticks by them,

to mark the different' kinds. Keep the frame covered with

the glass whenever it is cold enough to chill the plants;

but at all other times admit fresh air, which is indispensa-

ble to their health. When the sun is quite warm, raise

the glasses enough to admit air, and cover them with mat-

ting or blankets, of else the sun may kill the young plants.

Water the bed at evening with water which has stood all

day, or, if it be fresh drawn, add a little warm water. If

there be too much heat in the bed, so as to scorch or wither

the plants, lift the sashes, water freely, shade by day ; makedeep holes with stakes, and fill them up when the heat

is reduced. In very cold nights, cover the sashes and

frame with straw-mats.

For Planting Flower Seeds.—Break up the soil, till it is

very soft, and free from lumps. Hub that nearest the sur-

face between the hands, to make it fine. Make a circular

drill a foot in diameter. Seeds are to be planted either

deeper or nearer the surface, according to their size. Forseeds as large as sweet peas, the drill should be half an inch

deep. The smallest seeds must be planted very near the sur-

face, and a very little fine earth be sifted over them. After

covering them with soil, beat them down with a trowel, so as

to make the earth as compact as it is after a heavy shower.

"Set up a stick in the middle of the circle, with the

name of the plant heavily written upon it with a dark lead

pencil. This remains more permanent if white-lead be first

rubbed over the surface. Never plant when the soil is very

wef. In very dry times, water the seeds at night. ]S"ever use

very cold water. When the seeds are small, many should beplanted together^ that they may assist each other in break-

ing the soil. When the plants are an inch high, thin themout, leaving only one or two, if the plant be a large one'

CASE OF TAEDS AND GARDENS. 381

like the balsam ; five or six, wlieii it is of a medium size

;

and eighteen or twenty of the smaller size. Transplant-

ing, unless the plant be lifted with a ball of earth, retards

the growth about a fortnight. It is best to plant at twodifferent times, lest the first planting should fail, owing to

wet or cold weather.

To plant Ga/rden-Seeds, make the beds from one to

three yards wide ; lay across them a board a foot wide,

and with a stick, make a farrow on each side of it, one

inch deep. Scatter the seeds in this furrow, and cover

them. Then lay the board over them, and step on it, to

press down the earth. "When the plants are an inch high,

thin them out, leaving spaces proportioned to their sizes.

Seeds of similar species, such as melons and squashes,

should not be planted very near to each other, as this causes

them to degenerate. The same kinds of vegetables should

not be planted in the same place for two years in succes-

sion. The longer the rows are, the easier is the after cul-

ture.

Transplcmtmg should be done at evening, or which is

better,just before a shower. Take a round stick sharpened

at the point, and make openings to receive the plants. Set

.

them a very little deeper than they were before, and press

the soil firmly round them. Then water them, and cover

them for three or four days, taking care that sufficient air be

admitted. If the plant can be removed without disturbing

the soil around the root, it will not be at all retarded -by,

transplanting. Never remove leaves and branches, unless

a part of the roots be lost.

To Re-pot House-Plants, renew the soil every year, soon

after the time of blossoming. Prepare soil as previously

directed. Loosen the earth from the pot by passing a

knife around the sides. Turn the plant upside down, and

remove the pot. Then remove all the matted fibres at the

bottom, and all the earth, except that which adheres to the

roots. From woody plants, like roses, shake off all the


earth. Take the new pot, and put a piece of broken

earthen-ware over the hole at the bottom, and then, hold-

ing the plant in the proper position, shake in the earth

around it. Then pour in water to settle the earth, and

heap on fresh soil, tiU the pot is even full. Small pots are

considered better than large ones, as the roots are no! so

likely to rot, from excess of moisture.

In the Laying out of Yards and Gardens, there is room

for much judgment and taste. In planting trees in a yard,

tliey should be arranged in groups, and never planted in

straight lines, nor sprinkled about as solitary trees. The

ob]'ect of this arrangement is to imitate Nature, and secure

some spots of dense shade and some of clear turf. In

yards which are covered with turf, beds can be cut out of

it, and raised for flowers. A trench should be made around,

to prevent the grass from running on them. These beds

can be made in the shape of crescents, ovals, or other fan-

ciful forms.

In laying out beds in gardens and yards, a very pretty

bordering can be made, by planting them with commonflax-seed, in a line about three inches from the edge. This

can be trimmed with shears, when it grows too high.

For Transplanting Trees, the autumn is the best time.

Take as much of the root as possible, especially the little

fibres, which should never become dry. If kept long be-

fore they are set out, put wet moss around them and waterthem. Dig holes larger than the extent of the roots ; let

one person hold the tree in its former position, and another

place the roots carefully as they were before, cutting off

any broken or wounded root. JBe careful not to let the tree

he more than an inch deeper than it was hefore. Let the soil

be soft and well manured ; shake the tree as the soil is

shaken in, that it may mix well among the small fibres. Donot tread the earth down, while filling the hole butwhen it is full, raise a slight mound of say four inchesdeep around the stem to kold water, and fill it. Never

CARE OF YARDS AND GARDENS. 383

cut off leayes nor branclies, unless some of tlie roots are

lost. Tie the trees to a stake, and they will be more likely

to li-ve. "Water them often.

The Care of House-Plants is a matter of daily atten-

tion, and well repays all labor expended upon it. The soil

of house-plants should be renewed every year as previous-

ly directed. In winter, they should be kept as dry as they

can be without wilting. Many house-plants are injured

by giving them too much water, when they have little light

and fresh air. This makes them grow spindling. Themore fresh air, warmth and light they have, the more wa-

ter is needed. They ought not to be kept very warm in

winter, nor exposed to great changes of atmosphere. For-

ty degrees is a proper temperature for plants in winter,

when they have little sun and air. "WTien plants have be-

come spindling, cut off their heads entirely, and cover the

pot in the earth, where it has the morning sun only. Anew and flourishing head will spring out. Few house-

plants can bear the sun at noon. When insects infest

plants, set them in a closet or under a barrel, and burn to-

bacco under them. The smoke kills any insect enveloped

in it. When plants are frozen, cold water and a gradual

restoration of warmth are the best remedies. Never use

very cold water for plants at any season.

xxxn.

THE PKOPAGATION OF PLANTS.

This is an occupation requiring much attention and con-

stant care. Bulbous roots are propagated by offsets ; some

growing on the top, others around the sides. Many plants

are propagated by cutting off twigs, and setting them in

earth, so that two or three eyes are covered. To do this,

select a side shoot, ten inches^ loiig) two inches of it being

of the preceding year's growth, and the rest the growth

of the season when it is set. Do this when the sap is

running, and put a piece of crockery at the bottom of the

shoot, when it is buried. One eye, at least, must be under

the soil. "Water it and shade it iu hot weather.

Plants are also propagated by layers. To do this, take

a shoot which comes up near the root, bend it down so as

to bring several eyes under the soil, leaving the top above-

ground. If the shoot be cut haK through, in a slanting

direction, at one of these eyes, before burying it, the re-

sult is more certain. Roses, honeysuckles, and many other

shrubs are readily propagated thus. They will generally

take root by being simply buried ; but cutting them as

here directed is the best method. Layers are more certain

than cuttings.

Budding and Qraftmg, for all woody plants, are favo-

rite methods of propagation. In all such plants, there is

an outer and inner bark, the latter containing the sap ves-

sels, in which the nourishment of the tree ascends. The suc-

cess of grafting or inoculating consists in so placing the

bud or graft that the sap vessels of the inner bark shall

TSE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS. 385

Fig. M.

exactly join those of the plant into which they are grafted,

so that the sap may pass from one into the other.

The following are directions for ludding, which may beperformed at any time fi-om July to September

:

Select a smooth place on the stock into which yon are to

insert the bud. Make a horizontal cut across the rind

through to the firm wood ; and from the middle of this,

make a slit downward perpendicularly, an inch or morelong, through to the wood. Eaise the bark of the stock on

each side of

the perpen-

dicular cut,

for the ad-

mission of

the bud, as

is shown in

the annexed

engraving,

(Fig. 64.)

Then take a

shoot of

this year's

growth, and

slice from it

a bud, tak-

ing an inch

below and

an inchaboTe it,

and some portion of the wood under it. Then, carefully

slip off the woody part under the bud. Examine whether

the eye or germ of the bud be perfect. If a little hole ap-

pear in that part, the bud has lost its root, and another

must be selected. Insert the bud, so that a, of the bud,

shall pass to a, of the stock ; then h, of the bud, must be

cut off, to match the cut b, in the stock, and fitted exactly

386 THE EOVSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

Fig. 65.

to it, as it is this alone which insures success. Bind the

parts with fresh bass or woolen yarn, beginning a little

below the bottom of the perpendicular slit, and winding it

closely around every part, except just over the eye of the

bud, until you arrive above the horizontal cut. Do not

bind it too tightly, but just siiificient to exclude air, sun,

and wet. This is to be removed after the bud is firmly

fixed, and begins to grow.

Seed-fruit can be budded into any other seed-fruit, and

stone-fruit into any other stone-fruit ; but stone and seed-

fruits can not be thus mingled.

Eose-bushes can have a variety of kinds budded into the

same stock. Hardy roots are the best stocks. The branch

above the bud must be cut off the next March or April af-

ter the bud is put in. Apples and pears are more easily

propagated by ingrafting than by budding.

Ingrafting is a similar process to budding,

with this advantage, that it can be per-

formed on large trees, whereas budding can

be applied only on small ones. The two com-

mon kinds ofingrafting are whip-grafting and

split-grafting. The first kind is for young"trees, and the other for large ones.

The time for ingrafting is from May to

October. The cuttings must be taken from

horizontal shoots, between Christmas andMarch, and kept in a damp cellar. In per-

forming the operation, cut off in a sloping

direction (as seen in Fig. 65) the tree or

limb to be grafted. Then cut off in a cor-

responding slant the slip to be grafted on.

Then put them together, so that the inner

bark of each shall match exactly on one

side, and tie them firmly together with yel-

low yam. It is not essential that both beof equal size ; if the bark of each meet together exactly

THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS. 387

Fig. 66

on one side, it answers tlie purpose. But tlie two mustnot differ much in size. The slope shoiild be an inch and

a half, or more, in length. After they are tied together,

the place should be covered with a salve or composition of

bees-w^ and rosin. A mixture of clay and cow-dung will

answer the same purpose. This last must be tied on with

a cloth. Grafting is more convenient than budding, as

grafts can be sent from a great distance ; whereas buds

must be taken in July or August, from a shoot of the

present year's growth, and can not be sent to any great dis-

tance.

This engraving (Fig.' 66) exhibits the

mode called stock-grafting ; a being the

limb of a large tree, which is sawed off

and split, and is to be held open by a

small wedge till the grafts are put in.

A graft inserted in the limb is shown

at 5, and at c is one not inserted, but de-

signed to be put in at d, as two grafts

can be put into a large stock. In in-

serting the graft, be careful to make the

edge of the inner bark of the graft meet

exactly the edge of the inner bark of the

stock ; for on this success depends. Af-

ter the grafts are put in, the wedge must

be withdrawn, and the whole of the stock be covered with

the thick salve or composition before mentioned, reaching

from where the grafts are inserted to the bottom of the

slit. Be careful not to knock or move the grafts after they

are put in.

Pruning is an operation of constant exercise, for keep-

ing plants and trees in good condition. The following

rules are from a distinguished horticulturist : Prune off

all dead wood, and all the little twigs on the main limbs.

Ketrench branches, so as to give light and ventilation to the

interior of the tree. Out out the straight and perpendi-

388 I'BE HOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

cular shoots, wliicli give little or no fruit; while those

which are most nearly horizontal, and somewhat curving,

give fruit abundantly and of good quality, and should

be sustained. Superfluous and ill-placed buds may be

rubbed off at any time ; and no buds pushing out after

midsummer should be spared. In choosing between shoots

to be retained, preserve the lowest placed, and on lateral

shoots, those which are nearest the origin. When branches

cross each other so as to rub, remove one or the other.

Remove all suckers from the roots of trees or shrubs.

Prune after the sap is in full circulation, (except in the

case of grapes,) as the wounds then heal best. Some think

it best to prune before the sap begins to run. Pruning-

shears, and a pruning-pole, with a chisel at the end, can

be procured of those who deal in agricultural utensils.

Thinnvng is also an important but very delicate opera-

tion. As it is the office of the leaves to absorb nourishment

from the atmosphere, they should never be removed, except

to mature the wood or fruit. In doing this, remove such

leaves as shade the fruit, as soon as it is ready to ripen.

To do it earlier impairs the growth. Do it gradually at twodifferent times. Thinning the fruit is important, as tend-

ing to increase its size and flavor, and also to promote

the longevity of the tree. If the fruit be thickly set, take

off one half at the time of setting. Revise in June, and

then in July, taking off all that may be spared. One very

la/rge apple to every square foot is a rule that may be a

sort of guide in other cases. According to this, two hun-

dred large apples would be allowed to a tree whose extent

is fifteen feet by twelve. If any person think this thinning

excessive, let him try two similar trees, and thin one as di-

rected and leave the other unthinned. It will be found

that the thinned tree wiU produce an equal weight, and

fruit of much finer fiavor.

xxxm.

THE CULTIVATION OF FEUIT.

By a little attention to this matter, a lady witL. tlie help

of her children can obtain a rich abundance of all kinds

of fruit. The writer has resided in families where little

boys of eight, ten, and twelve years old amused themselves,

under the direction of their mother, in planting walnuts,

chestnuts, and hazelnuts, for future time ; as well as in

planting and inoculating young fruit-trees of all descrip-

tions. A mother who will take pains to inspire a love for

such pursuits in her children, and who will aid and super-

intend them, will save them from many temptations, and

at a trifling expense secure to them and herself a rich re-

ward in the choicest fruits. The information given in this

work on this subject may be relied on as sanctioned by

the most experienced nursery-men.

The soil for a nursery should be rich, well dug, dressed

with well-decayed manure, free from weeds, and protected

from cold winds. Fruit-seeds should be planted in the au-

tumn, an inch and a half or two inches deep, in ridges four

or five feet apart, pressing the earth firmly over the seeds.

While growing, they should be thinned out, leaving the

best ones a foot and a half apart. The soil should be kept

loose, soft, and free from weeds. They should be inoculat-

ed or ingrafted when of the size of a pipe stem ; and in a

year after this may be transplanted to their permanent

stand. Peach-trees sometimes bear in two years from bud-

ding, and in four years from planting if well kept.

In a year after transplanting, take pains to train the head

aright. Straight upright branches produce gov/rrtiornds, or


twigs bearing only leaves. The side branclies which arc

angular or curved yield the most finiit. For this reason,

the limbs should be trained in curves, and perpendicular

twigs should be cut off if there be need of pruning. The

last of June is the time for this Grass should never be al-

lowed to grow within four feet of a large tree, and the

soil should be kept loose to admit air to the roots. Trees

in orchards should be twenty-five feet apart. The soil

uThder the top soil has much to do with the health of

the trees. If it be what is called liard-jpan, the trees will

deteriorate. Trees need to be manured and to have the

soil kept open and free from weeds.

FiTbeHs cad be raised in any part of this country.

Figs can be raised in the Middle, "Western, and Southern

States. For this purpose, in the autumn loosen the roots on

one side, and bend the tree down to the earth on the other

;

then cover it with a mound of straw, earth, and boards,

and early in the spring raise it up and cover the roots.

Ourrants grow well in any but a wet soil. They are

propagated by cuttings. The old wood should be thinned

in the fall and manure be put on. They can be trained

into small trees.

Gooseberries are propagated by layers and cuttings.

They are best when kept from suckers and trained like

trees. One third of the old wood should be removêvery autumn.

Maspberries do best when shaded during a part of the

day. They are propagated by layers, slips, and suckers.

There is one kind which bears monthly ; but the varieties

of this and all other fruits are now so numerous that wecan easily find those which are adapted to the special cir-

cumstances of the case.

Strawberries require a light soil and vegetable manure.They should be transplanted in April or September, andbe set eight inches apart, in rows nine inches asunder, andin beds which are two feet wide, with narrow alleys be-

THE CULTIVATION OF FBUIT. 391

tween them. A part ofthese plants are non-'bearers. These

have large flowers with showy stamens and high black

anthers. The hearers have short stamens, a great numberof pistils, and the flowers are every way less showy. In

blossom-time, pull out all the non-bearers. Some think it

best to leave one non-bearer to every twelve bearers, and

others pull them all out. Many beds never produce any

fruit, because all the plants in them are non-bearers.

Weeds should be kept from the vines. When the vines

are matted with young plants, the best way is to dig over

the beds in cross lines, so as to leave some of the plants

standing in little squares, while the rest are turned under

the soil. This should be done over a second time in the

same year.

To liaise Grapes, manure the soil, and keep it soft and

free from weeds. A gravelly or sandy soil, and a south ex-

posure are best. Transplant the vines in the early spring,

or better in the fall. Prune them the first year so as to

have only two main branches, taking off all other shoots as

fast as they come. In November, cut off all of these two

branches except four eyes. The second year, in the spring,

loosen the earth around the roots, and allow only two

branches to grow, and every month take off all side shoots.

When they are very strong, preserve only a part, and cut

off the rest in the fall. In November, cut off all the two

main stems except eight eyes. After the second year, no

more pruning is needed, except to reduce the side shoots,

for the purpose of increasing the fruit. All the pruning ol

grapes (except nipping side shoots) must be done when

the sap is not running, or they will bleed to death. Train

them on poles, or lattices, to expose them to the air and

sun. Cover tender vines in the autumn. Grrapes are

propagated by cuttings, layers, and seeds. For cuttings,

select in the autumn well-ripened wood of the former year,

and take five joints for each. Bury them till April ;then

soak them for some hours, and set them out askmt, so that

all the eyes but one shall be covered.


Apples, grapes, and such like fruit can be preserved in

their natural state by packing them when dry and solid in

dry sand or saw-dust, putting alternate layers of fruit and

cotton, saw-dust or sand. Some saw-dust gives a bad flavor

to the fruit.

Modes ofPreserving Fruit-Trees.—Heaps of ashes or tan-

ner's bark around peach-trees prevent the attack of the

worm. The yellows is a disease of peach-trees, which is

spread by the pollen of the blossom. When a tree begins

to turn yellow, take it away with all its roots, before it

blossoms again, or it will infect other trees. Planting tan-

sy around the roots of fruit-trees is a sure protection

against worms, as it prevents the moth from depositing

her egg. Equal quantities of salt and saltpetre, put

around the trunk of a peach-tree, half a pound to a tree,

improve the size and flavor of the fruit. Apply this about

the flrst of April ; and if any trees have worms already in

them, put on half the quantity in addition in June. Toyoung trees just set out, apply one ounce in April, and

another in June, close to the stem. Sandy soil is best for

peaches.

Apple-trees are preserved from insects by a wash of

strong lye to the body and limbs, which, if old, should be

flrst scraped. Caterpillars should be removed by cutting

down their nests in a damp day. Boring a hole in a tree

infested with worms, and fllling it with sulphur, will often

drive them off immediately.

The fire-llight or brdlv/re in pear-trees can be stopped bycutting off all the blighted branches. It is supposed bysome to be owing to an excess of sap, which is remedied bydiminishing the roots.

The curoulio, which destroys plums and other stone-

fruit, can be checked only by gathering up all the fruit

that falls, (which contains their eggs,) and destroying it.

The canker-worm can be checked by applying a bandagearound the body of the tree, and every evening smearing

it with fresh tar.

XXXIV.

THE OAUB OF DOMESTIO A1TIMA18,

One of the most interesting illustrations of the design

of our benevolent Creator in establishing the family

state is the nature of the domestic animals connected withit. At the very dawn of life, the infant watches with de-

light the graceful gambols of the kitten, and soon makes it

a playmate. Meantimey its out-cries when hurt appeal

to kindly sympathy, and its sharp claws to fear; while

the child's mother has a constant opportunity to incul-

cate kindness and care for weak and ignorant creatures.

Then the dog becomes the out-door playmate and guardian

of early childhood, and he also guards hmiself by cries of

pain, and protects himself by his teeth. At the same time,

his faithful loving nature and caresses awaken correspond-

ing tenderness and care; while the parent again has a

daily opportunity to inculcate these virtues toward the

helpless and dependent. As the child increases in know-ledge and reason, the horse, cows, poultry, and other do-

mestic animals come under his notice. These do not ordi-

narily express their hunger or other sufferings by cries of

distress, but depend more on the developed reason and

humanity of man. And here the parent is called upon to

instruct a child in the nature and wants of each, that he

may intelligently provide for their sustenance and for their

protection from injury and disease.

To assist in this important duty of home life, which so

often falls to the supervision of woman, the following

information is prepared through the kindness of one of


the editors of a prominent, widely known agricultural

paper.

Domestic animals are very apt to catch the spirit and

temper of their masters. A surly man wiU be very likely

to have a cross dog and a biting hOrse. A -passionate manwiU keep all his animals ^.r. -fi'tral fear of him, making

them snappish, and liable to hurt those of whom they are

not afraid.

It isj therefore, most important that all animals should

be treated uniformly with kindness. They are all capable

of returning affection, and will show it very pleasantly it

we manifest affection for them. They also have intuitive

perceptions of our emotions which we can not conceal. Asharp, ugly dog will rarely bite a person who has no fear ot

him. A horse knows the moment a man mounts or takes

the reins whether he is afraid or not; and so it is with

other animals.

If live stock can not be well fed, they ought not to bekept. One well wintered horse is worth as much as two.

that drag through on straw, and by browsing the hedge-

rows. The same is true of oxen, and emphatically so of

cows. The owner of a half-starved dog loses the use of

him almost altogether ; for, at the very time—^the night

—

when he is most needed as a guard, he must be off scou-

ring the country for food.

Shelter in winter is most important for cows. Theyshould have good tight stables or byres, weU ventilated,

and so warm that water in a pail will only freeze a little

on the top the severest nights. Oxen should have the

same stabling, though they bear cold better. Horses in

stables will bear ahnost any degree of cold, if they haveall they can eat. Sheep, except young lambs, are well

enough sheltered in dry sheds, with one end open. Cattle,

sheep, and dogs do not sweat as horses do, they " loU ;"

that is, water or slabber runs from their tongues ; hence,

they are not liable to take cold as the horse is. Hogs bea»

TSE CABE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 395

cold pretty well ; but they eat enough to convince any one

that true economy lies in giving them warm sties in win-

ter, for the colder they are the more they eat. Fowls will

not lay in cold weather unless they have light and warmquarters.

Cleanliness is. indispensable, if one would keep his ani-

mals healthy. In their wild state all our domestic animals

are very clean, and, at the same time, very healthy. Thehog is not naturally a dirty animal, but quite the reverse.

He enjoys -currying as much as a horse or a cow, and

would be as careful of his litter as a cat if he had a fair

chance.

Horses ought to be groomed daily ; cows and oxen as of-

ten as twice a week ; dogs should be washed with soapsuds

frequently. Stables should be cleaned out daily. Absorb-

ents of liquid in stables should be removed as often as they

become wet. Dry earth is one of the best absorbents, and

is especially useful in the fowl-house. Hogs in pens should

have straw for their rests or lairs, and it should be often

renewed.

Parasitic Vermin.—These are lice, fleas, ticks, the scale

,insects, and other pests which afflict our live stock. There

are many ways of destroying them ; the best and safest is a

free use of carbolic acid soap. The larger animals, as well as

hogs, dogs, and sheep may be washed in strong suds of this

soap, without fear, and the application repeated after a week.

This generally destroys both the creatures and their eggs.

Hen lice are best destroyed by greasing the fowls, and dust-

ing them with flowers of sulphur. Sitting hens must

never be greased, but the sulphur may be dusted freely in

their nests, and it is well to put it in all hens' nests.

Salt and Water.—AW animals except poultry require

salt, and all, free supplies of fresh water.

ZjÂ^.—Stables, or places where any kind of animals are

confined, should have plenty of light. Windows are not

more important in a house than in a barn. The sun


should come in freely ; and if it shines directly ujon the

stock, aU the better. When beeves and sheep are fat-

tening very rapidly, the exclusion of the light makes them

more quiet, and fatten faster; but their state is an un-

natural and hardly a healthy one.

Exercise in the open air is important for breeding ani-

mals. It is especially necessary for horses of all kinds.

Cows need very little and swine none, unless kept for

breeding.

Breeding.—Always use thorough-bred males, and im-

provement is certain.

Sorses.—The care which horses require varies with the

circumstances in which the owner is placed, and the uses

to which they are put. In general, if kept stabled, they

should be fed with good upland hay, almost as much as

they will eat ; and if absent from the stable, and at work

most of the day, they should have all they wiU eat of hay,

together with four to eight quarts of oats or an equal

weight of other grain or meal. Barley is good for horses,

and so is dry corn. Corn-meal put upon cut hay, wet and

well-mixed, is good, steady feed, if not in too large quanti-

ties. Four quarts a day may be fed unmixed with other

grain ; but if the horse be hard worked and needs more,

mix the meal with wheat bran, or linseed oil-cake meal,

or use corn and oats ground together ; carrots are especially

wholesome. A quart of linseed oil-cake meal, daily, is an

excellent occasional addition to a horse's feed, when car-

rots can not be had. It gives a lustre to his coat, and

brings the new coat of hair out in the spring. A stabled

horse needs daily exercise, as much as to trot three miles.

"Where a horse is traveling, it is well to give him six quarts

of oats in the morning, four at noon, and six at night.

Thorough grooming is indispensable to the health of

horses. Especial care should be taken of the legs and fet-

locks, that no dirt remain to cause that distressing disease,

grease or scratches, which results from filthy fetlocks and

THE CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALa. Z9''i

standing in dirty stables. When a horse comes in fromwork on muddy roads with dirty legs, they should be im-mediately cleaned, the dirt brushed off, then rubbed withstraw ; then, if very dirty, washed clean and rubbed drywith a piece of sacking. A horse should never stand in a

draught of cold air, if he can not turn and put his back to it.

Tf sweaty or warm from work, he should be blanketed, if

lie is to stand a minute in the winter air. If put at one"into the stable, he should be stripped and rubbed downwith straw actively for five minutes or more, and then

blanketed. The blanket must be removed in an hour, andthe horse given water and feed, if it is the usual time. It

will not hurt him to eat hay when hot, unless he be tho-

roughly exhausted, when all food should be withheld for a

while.

It is very comforting to a tired horse, when he is too

hot to drink, to sponge out his mouth with cool water. Ahorse should never drink when very hot, nor be turned

into a yard to " cool off," even in summer, neither should

he be turned out to pasture before he is quite cool.

Cows.—Gentle but firm treatment will make a cow easy

to milk and to handle in every way. If stabled or yarded,

cows should have access to water at all times, or have it

fi-equently offered to them. Clover hay is probably the

best steady food for milch cows. Cornstalks cut up, tho-

roughly soaked with water for tfalf a day, and then sprin-

kled with corn or oil-cake meal is perhaps unsurpassed

as good winter food for milch cows. The amount of meal

may vary. With plenty of oil-meal, there is little danger

of feeding too much, as that is loosening to the bowels and

a safe nutritious article. Corn-meal alone, in large quan-

tities, is too heating. Roots should, if possible, form part

of the diet of a milch cow, especially before and soon after

calving ; feed well before this period, yet not to make the

cow very fat ; but it is better to err in that way than to

have her " come in " thin. Take the calf, away from the


mother as soon as it stands up, and the separation viiW

worry neither dam nor young. This is always best, unless

the calf is to be kept with the cow. The calf will soon

learn to drink its food, if two fingers be held in its mouth.

Let it have all the first drawn milk for three days as soon

as milked ; after this, skimmed milk warmed to blood

heat. Soon a little fine scalded meal may be mixed with

the milk ; and it will, at tliree to five weeks old, nibble

hay and grass. It is well also to keep a box containing

some dry wheat-bran and fine corn-meal mixed in the calf-

pen, so that calves may take as much as they like.

In milking, put the fingers around the teat close to the

bag ; then firmly close the forefingers of each hand alter-

nately, immediately squeezing with the other fingers.

The forefingers prevent the milk flowing back into the

bag, while the others press it out. Sit with the left knee

close to the right hind leg of the cow, the head pressed

against her flank, the left hand always ready to ward off a

blow from her feet, which the gentlest cow may give al-

most without knowing it, if her tender teats be cut by long

nails, or if a wart be hurt, or her bag be tender. Shemust be stripped dry every time she is milked, or she will

dry up ; and if she gives much milk, it pays to milk three

times a day, as nearly eight hours apart as possible. Neverstop while milking till done, as this will cause the cow to

stop giving milk. *

To tether a cow, tie her by one hind leg, making the rope

fast above the fetlock joint, and protecting the limb with

a piece of an old bootleg or similar thing. ' The knot mustbe one that will not slip; regular fetters of iron boundwith leather are much better.

A cow should go unmilked two months before calving,

and her milk should not be used by the family till four

days after that time.

Swine.—The filthy state of hog-pens is allowed on account

of the amount of manure they will make by working ove^

THE CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 399

all sorts of vegetable matter, spoiled hay, weeds, etc., etc.

This is unhealthy for the family near and also for the animal. The hog is, naturally, a cleanly animal, and if givena chance he will keep himself very neat and clean.

Breeding sows should have the range of a small pasture,

and be regularly fed. They need fresh water constantly

and often suffer for lack of it when they have liquid swill,

which they do not like to di-ink. All hogs should have a

warm, dry, well-littered pen to lie in, away from iflies anddisturbance of any kind. They are fond of charcoal, andit is worth while frequently to throw a few handfuls wherethey can get at it. It has a very beneficial effect on the

appetite, regulates the tone of the stomach and digestive

organs, and can not do any harm. Pigs ought always to be

well fed and kept growing fast ; and when being fattened,

they should be penned always, the herd being sorted so

that all may have an equal chance. It is well to feed

soft com in the ear; biit hard com should always be

groxmd and cooked for pigs.

Sheep.—In the winter, sheep need deep, well-littered,

dry sheds, dry yai'ds, and hay, wheat, or oat straw, as muchas they will eat. They should be kept gaining by gi'ain reg-

ularly fed to them, and so distributed that each gets its

share. Com, either whole or ground, or oil-cake meal, or

both, are used for fattening sheep. They will easily surfeit

themselves on any grain exceft oil-meal, which is very safe

feed for them, and usually economical. Strong sheep will

often drive the weaker ones away, and so get more than

their share of food and make themselves sick. This must

be guarded against, and the flock sorted, keeping the weak-

er and stronger apart.

Sheep are very useful in clearing land of brush and cer-

tain weeds, which they gnaw down and kill. To accom-

plish this, the land must be overstocked, and it is best not to

keep sheep on short pasturage more than a few weeks at a

time ; but if they are returned after a few days, it will serve

400 THE BQUSEKEEPEE'S MANUAL.

as good a purpose as if they were to be kept on all the time.

Sheep at pasture must be restrained by good fences, or they

will be a great nuisance. Dog-proof hedge fences of Osage

orange are to be highly recommended, wherever this plant

will grow. Mutton sheep will generally pay better to

raise than merinos, but they need more care.

Poultry.—Few objects of labor are more remunerative

than poultry, raised on a moderate scale. Turkeys, when

young, need great care ; some animal food, dry, warm quar-

ters, and must be kept out of the wet grass, and kept in

when it rains. As soon as fledged, they become very

hardy, and, with free range, will almost take care of

themselves. Geese need water and good grass pasture.

Ducks do very well without water to swim in, if they have

all they need to drink. They will lay a great many eggs

if kept shut in a pen until say eight o'clock in the morning.

If let out earlier, they wander away, and will hide their

nests, and lay only about as many eggs as they can cover.

It is best to set duck's eggs under hens, and to keep youngducks shut up in a dry roomy pen for four weeks, at least.

Fowls need light, warm, dry quarters in winter, plenty of

feed, but not too much. They relish animal food, and

ought to have some frequently to make them lay. Porkor beef sci'ap-cake can be bought for two to three cents a

pound, and is very good for them. Any kind of grain, is

good for poultry. Nothing is better than wheat screenings.

Early hatched chickens must be kept in a warm, dry, sunnyroom, with plenty of gravel, and the hen should have nomore than eight or nine chickens to brood ; though in sum-

mer, one hen will take good care of fifteen. Little chickens,

turkeys, and ducks need frequent feeding, and must have

their water changed often. It is well to grease the bodyof the hen and the heads of the chicks with lard, in order

to prevent their becoming lousy.

Hens set about twenty days, and should be well fed and

watered. Cold cr damp weather is bad for young fowls,

THE CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 401

and when they have been chilled, pepper-corns are a goodremedy, in addition to the warmth of an inclosed dryplace.

The most absorbing part of the " "Woman's question " ofthe present time is the remedy for the varied sufferings ofwomen who are widows or unmarried, and without meansof siipport. As yet, few are aware how many sources oflucrative enterprise and industry lie open to woman in theemployments du-ectly connected with the family state. Awoman can invest capital in the dairy and qualify herseKto superintend a dairy farm as well as a man. And if shehas no capital of her own, if well trained for this business,

she can find those who have capital ready to furnish—aninvestment that well managed will become profitable. And,too, the raising of poultry, of hogs, and of sheep are all within

the reach of a woman with proper abihties and training

for this business. So that if a woman chooses, she can find

employment both interesting and profitable in studying the

care of domestic animals.

Bees.—But one of the most profitable as well as interest-

ing kinds of business for a woman is the care of bees. In

a recent agricultural report, it is stated that one lady bought

four hives for ten dollars, and in five years she was offered

one thousand five hundred dollars for her stock, and re-

fused it as not enough. In addition to this increlase of her

capital, in one of these five years she sold twenty-two

hives and four hundred and twenty pounds of honey. It

is also stated that in five years one man, from six colonies

of bees to start with, cleared eight thousand pounds of

honey and one hundred and fifty-four colonies of bees.

The raising of bees and their management is so cu-

rious and as yet unknown an art in most parts of our

country, that any directions or advice will be omitted in

this volume, as requiring too much space, and largely set

forth and illustrated in the second part. When properly


instructed, almost any woman in the city, as easily as in

the country, can manage bees, and make more profit than

in any other method demanding so little time and labor.

But in the modes ordinarily practiced, few can make any

great profit in this employment.

It is hoped a time is at hand when every woman will be

trained to some employment by which she can secure to

herself an independent home and means to support a fami-

ly, in case she does not marry, or is left a widow, with her-

self and a family to support.

XXXV.

EAKTH-OLOSETS.

±N some particulars, the Chinese are in advance of our

own nation in neatness, economy, and healthful domestic

arrangements. In China, not a particle of manm-e is

wasted, and all that with us is sent off in drains and sewers

from water-closets and privies, is collected in a neat mannerand used for manure. This is one reason that the compact

and close packing of inhabitants in their cities is practica

ble, and it also accounts for the enormous yields of some of

their crops.

The earth-closet is an invention which relieves the most

disagreeable item in domestic labor, and prevents the disa-

greeable and unliealthful effluvium which is almost inevita-

ble in all family residences. The general principle of

construction is somewhat like that of a water-closet, except

that in place of water is used dried earth. The resulting

compost is without disagreeable odor, and is the richest spe-

cies of manure. The expense of its construction and use is

no greater than that of the common water-closet ; indeed,

when the outlays for plumber's work, the almost inevitable

troubles and disorders of water-pipes in a house, and the

constant stream of petty repairs consequent upon careless

construction or use of water-works are considered, the earth-

closet is in itself much cheaper, besides being an accumu-

lator of valuable matter.

To give a clear idea of its principles, mode of fabrication,

and use, we can not do better than to take advantage of

the permission given by Mr. George E. Waring, Jr., of


Newport, E. I., autlior of an admirable pampUet on the

subject, published in 1868 by " The Tribune Association"

of New-York., Mr. Waring was formerly Agricultiual En-

gineer of the New-York Central Park, and has given muchattention to sanitary and agricultural engineering, having

published several valuable frovks bearing in the same general

direction. He is now consulting director of " The Earth-

Closet Company," Hartford, Ct., which manufactures the

apparatus and all things appertaining to it—any part which

might be needed to complete a home-built structure, Put

with generous and no less judicious freedom, they are en-

deavoring to extend the knowledge of this wholesome and

economical process of domestic sanitary engineering as

widely as possible, and so allow us to present the following

instructions for those who may desire to construct their ownapparatus.

In the brief introduction to his pamphlet, Mr. Waring

" It is sufficiently understood, by all who have given the

least thought to the subject, that the waste of the most vital

elements of the soil's fertility, through our present practice

of treating human excrement as a thing that is to be hurried

into the sea, or buried in undergroimd vaults, or in some

other way put' out of sight and out of reach, is full of dan-

ger to our future prosperity.

" Our bodies have come out of our fertile fields ; our

prosperity is based on the production and the exchange of

the earth's fruits ; and all our industry has its foundation

in arts and interests connected with, or dependent on, a suc-

cessful agriculture.

" Liebig asserts that the greatness of the Koman empire

was sapped by the Cloaca Maxima, through which the

entire sewage of Eome was washed into the Tiber. Theyearly decrease of productive power in the older grain re-

gions of the West, and the increasing demand for manuresin the Atlantic States, sufficiently prove that our own coun-

BAMTH-CLOSETS. 405

try is no exception to the rule that has established its swayover Europe.

" The large class who will fail to feel the force of the

agricultural reasons in favor of the reform which this pam-phlet is written to uphold, will realize, more clearly thanfarmers will, the importance of protecting dwellings against

the gravest annoyance, the most fertile source of disease,

and the most certain vehicle of contagion."

Nevertheless, Mx. "Waring thinks that the agricultural

argument is no mean or unimportant one, and says

:

" The importance of any plan fey which the excrement of

our bodies may be returned to our fields is in a measure

shovsTi in the following extract from an article that I fur-

nished for the American Agricultural Annual for 1868.

" The average population of New-York City—including

its temporary visitors—is probably not less than 1,000,000.

This population consumes food equivalent to at least 30,-

000,000 bushels of corn in a year. Excepting the small pro-

portion that is stored up in the bodies of the growing

young, which is fully oiBset by that contained in the bodies

of the dead, the constituents of the food are returned to the

air by the hings and skin, or are voided as excrement.

That which goes to the air was originally taken from the

air by vegetation, and will be so taken again-: here is no

waste. The excrement contains all that was furnished" by

the mineral elements of the soil on which the food was pro-

duced.

" This all passes into the sewers, and is washed into the

sea. Its loss to the present generation is complete.

. . ." 30,000,000 bushels of corn contain, among

other minerals, nearly 7000 tons of phosphoric acid, and

this amount is annually lost in the wasted night-soil of New-

York City.*

* other mineral constituents of food—important ones, too—are washed

away in even greater quantities through the same channels ; but this ele-

ment is the best for illustration because its eflect in manure is the most

406 T£E HOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

" Piactically the human excrement of the whole country

is nearly all so disposed of as to be lost to the soil. The

present population of the United States is not far from

35,000,000. On the basis of the above calculation, their

annual food contains 200,000 tons of phosphoric acid, be-

ing the amount contained in about 900,000 tons of bones,

which, at the price of the best flour of bone, (for manure,)

would be worth over $50,'000,000. It would be a moderate

estimate to say that the other constituents of food are of at

least equal value with the other constituents of the bone,

and to assume $50,000,000 as the money value of the wast-

ed night-soil of the United States every year.

" In another view, the importance of this waste can not

be estimated in money. Money values apply, rather, to the

products of labor and to the exchange of these products.

The waste of fertilizing matter reaches farther than the de-

struction or exchange of products : it lessens the ability to

produce.

" If mill-streams were failing year by year, and steam

were yearly losing force, and the ability of men to labor

were yearly growing less, the doom of our prosperity would

not be more plainly written, than if this slow but certain

impoverishment of our soil were sure to continue.

. . . . " But the good time is coming, when (as

now in China and Japan) men must accept the fact that

the soil is not a warehouse to be plundered—only a factory

to be worked. Then they will save their raw material, in-

utead of wasting it, and, aided by nature's wonderful laws,

will weave over and over again the fabric by which we live

and prosper. Men will build up as fast as men destroy

;

old matters will be reproduced in new forms, and, as the

striking, even so small a dressing as twenty pounds per acre, producing

a marked effect on all cereal crops. Ammonia, too,wliich is so important

tliat it is usual in England to estimate the value of manure in exact pro-

portion to its supply of this element, is largely yielded by human excre-

ment.

EASTH-CLOSETS. 407

decaying forests feed the growing wood, so will all consumedfood yield food again."

With the above brief extract, we shall cease using marksof quotation, as the following information and statements

are appropriated bodily, either directly or with mere modi-

fications for brevity, from the little pamphlet of Mr. Waring.

The earth-closet is the invention of the Rev. HenryMonle, of Fordington Vicarage, Dorsetshire, England.

It is based on the power of clay, and the decomposed

organic matter found in the soil, to absorb and retain all

offensive odors and all fertilizing matters"; and it consists,

essentially, of a mechanical contrivance (attached to the

ordinary seat) for measuring out and discharging into the

vault or pan below a suflBcient quantity of sifted dry earth

to entirely cover the solid ordure and to absorb the urine.

The discharge of earth is effected by an ordinary pull-up

similar to that used in the water-closet, or (in the self-act-

ing apparatus) by the rising of the seat when the weight

of the person is removed.

The vault or pan under the seat is so arranged that the

accumulation may be removed at pleasure.

From the moment when the earth is discharged, and

the evacuation is covered, all offensive exhalation entirely

ceases. Under certain circumstances, there may be, at

times, a slight odor as of guano mixed with earth ; but this

is so trifling and'so local, that a commode arranged on this

plan may, without the least annoyance, be kept in use in

any room.

This statement is made as the result of personal experi-

ence. Mr. Waring says

:

" I have in constant use in a room in my house an

earth-closet commode ; and even when the pan is entirely

full, with the accumulation of a week's use, visitors exam-

ining it invariably say, with some surprise, 'You don't

mean that this particular one has been used !'"


HOW TO MAKE A2^ BAETH-CLOSBT.

The principle on which the earth-closet is based is as free

to all as is the earth itself, and any person may adopt his

own method of applying it. All that is necessary is to have

a supply of coarsely sifted sun-dried earth with which to

cover the bottom of the vessel to be used, and after use to

cover the deposit. A small box of earth, and a tin scoop

are sufficient to prevent the gravest annoyance of the sick-

room. But, of course, for constant use, it is desirable to

have a more convenient apparatus—something which re-

quires less care, and is less troublesome in many ways.

To this end, the patent invention of Mr. Moule is appK-

cable. This comprises a tight receptacle under the seat, a

reservoir for storing dry earth, and an apparatus to measure

out the requisite quantity, and throw it upon the deposit.

EARTH- CLOSETS. 409

The arrangement of the mechanism is shown in Fig. 67.

A hopper-shaped reservoir, made of galvanized iron, is

supported by a framework at the back of the seat, which

rests on the framework a, a. Connected with the handle at

the right-hand side, there is an iron lever, which operates a

movable box at the bottom of the reservoir, and causes it to

discharge its contents directly under the seat. "When the

handle is dropped, the box returns to its position, and is

immediately filled preparatory to another use.

The hopper-shaped reservoir is supported by two pivots,

and has a slight rocking or vibrating motion imparted to it

by each lifting of the lever. This prevents the earth from

becoming clogged, and insures its regular delivery,

THE "PDIiL-UP" APPABATOS.

rig. 68.

410 TEE EOUSEKEEFER'S MANUAL.

The construction is more clearly shown in Fig. 68.

In this figure, A is the vibrating hopper for holding the

earth. Its capacity may be increased to any desired extent

by building above it a straight-sized box of any height. It is

not unusual, in fixed privies, to make this reservoir large

enough to hold a supply for several months. As the earth

is dry, there is no occasion for the use of any thing better

than common pine boards in making this addition to the

reservoir.

B is one side of the wooden frame by which the hop-

per is supported, and it may be made of one inch pine or

spruce.

C is a box of lacquered or galvanized iron, without either

top or bottom. It moves on two pivots, one of which is

shown on its exposed side. In its present position, its upper

end opens into the hopper, and its lower end is closed by

the stationary board over which it stands. When the han-

dle is pulled up, the lever, which is connected with the box,

jerks it rapidly up, so that its back side closes the opening

,of the reservoir, and its bottom opens to the front. In its

movement it discharges its contents of earth forward under

the seat. When the handle is dropped, the box returns to

its natural position, and is charged again.

•D is one of the pivots—a corresponding one being on

the other side—^by which the hopper is supported, and on

which it vibrates.

a, a, a, a, a, a, are the parts of the framework, the di-

mensions of which in feet and inches are given.

The only essential part not shown is an earthen-ware pan

without a bottom, similar to the pah of a water-closet, only

not so deep and with a larger opening, which is attached to

the under side of the seat, and which in a measure prevents

the rising of dust, and conducts the urine to the point at

which the most earth falls. This is the least important

part of the invention, but it has a certain advantage.

The self-acting apparatus is more complicated, and per-

EARTH- CLOSETS. 411

sons wisliing it woiild do best to apply directly totlie Com-pany.

THE ORDIKAEY PKIVY.

In the circular published by the Earth-Closet Company,

the following directions are given

:

" An ordinary fixed closet requires the apparatus to be

placed at the back of, and in connection with, the usual seat

;

the reservoir for containing the earth being placed above it.

Under it there should be a chamber or vault about four feet

by three wide, and of any convenient depth, with a paved

or asphalted bottom, and the sides lined with cement.

C0MH0DE3.

Fig. eg-Commode, 3 ft. 3 in. high, i ft. 11 in. wide, 2 ft. 2 In. deep.


Should there be an existing cesspool, it may be altered to

the above dimensions. Into this the deposit and earth fall,

and may remain there three, six, or twelve months, and

continue perfectly inodorous and innoxious, merely requir-

ing to be occasionally leveled by a rake or hoe. If, how-

ever, it should be found impossible or inconvenient to have

a vault underneath, a movable trough, of iron or tarred

wood, on wheels, may be substituted. In this case, it will be

advisable to raise the seat somewhat above the floor, to al-

low the trough to be of sufEcient size.

" By one form of construction, (the 'pull-up,') the pull-

ing up of a handle releases a suiScient quantity of the dry

earth, which is thrown into the pit or vault, covering the

deposit and completely preventing all smell. By another,

(the ' self-acting,') the same effect is produced by the

action of the seat. The apparatus may be placed in, and

adapted to, almost any existing closet or privy, and so ar-

ranged that the supply and removal of earth may be carried

on inside or outside as desired."

The following is taken from the company's circular

:

" In the commode, the apparatus and earth-reservoir are

self-contained, and a movable pail takes the place of the

chamber or vault above described. This must be emptied

as often as necessary, and the contents may be applied to

the garden or field, or be allowed to accumulate in a heap

under cover until wanted for use. This accumulation is

inodorous, and rapidly becomes dry. The commode can

stand in any convenient place in or out of doors. For use

in bedrooms, hospital wards, infirmaries, etc., the commodeis invaluable. It is entirely free from those faint, depress-

ing odors common to portable water-closets and night-stools,

and through its admission one of the greatest miseries of

human life, the foul smells of the sick-room, and one of

the most frequent means of commimicating infection, maybe entirely prevented. It is invariably found that, if any

failure takes place, it arises from the earth not heing proper

•

EARTH-CLOSETS. 413

h/ dry. Too much importance can not be attached to this

requirement. The earth-commode will no more act pro-

perly .without dry earth, than will a water-closet without

water.

" These commodes are made in a variety of patterns,

from the cottage commode to the more expensive ones in

mahogany or oak, and vary in price accordingly. Theyare made to act either by a handle, as in the ordinary

water-closet, or self-acting on rising from the seat. Theearth-resei-voir is calculated to hold enough for about

twenty-five times ; and where earth is scarce, or the manurerequired of extraordinary strength, the product may be

dried as many as seven times, and without losing any of its

deodorizing properties.

" If care be taken to cast one service of earth into the

pail when first placed in the commode, and to have the

commonest regard to cleanliness, not the least offensive

snlell will be perceptible, though the receptacle remain un-

emptied for weeks. Care must also be taken that no liquid,

but that which they are intended to receive, be thrown into

the pails."

The pail used in the commode is made of galvanized

iron, and is shaped very much like an ordinary coal-hod.

It has a cover of the same material, and it may be carried

from an upper floor with no more offensiveness than a hod-

ful of common earth.

Fig. 70 represents a cross-section of the commode, and

will enable the reader more clearly to understand the con-

struction and operation of the apparatus.

a is the opening in the seat; 6, the "pan;" c, the paU

for receiving the deposit ; d, the hopper for containing the

earth supply ; e, the box by which the earth is measured,

and by which it is thrown into the pail when moved to the

position e' by the operation of the " pull-up ;"/, a door by

which the pail is shut in; g, the cover of the seat; h, the

coVer of the hopper ; i^ a platform which prevents the es-

cape of earth from e.

414 THE BOUSEKEEPEB'S MANUAL.

Kg. 70

HOW TO USE THE BAKTH-CLOSBT.

Under this head, the circular issued by the original Lon-

don company contains the following :

" The first requirement for the proper worMng of the

6arth-closet is earth perfectly dry and sifted.

" Earth alone is proved to be the best deodorizer, and

far superior to any disinfectants ; but where it is difficult to

obtain earth abundantly, sifted ashes, as before-stated, maybe mixed with it in proportion of two of earth to one of

ashes.

" As the first requirement is dry ea/rih sifted^ and as thi&

HARTS- CL0SET8. 41ft

is usually thought to be a great difficulty in the way of the

adoption of the dry earth system, the following remarks. will at once remove such an impression.

" The earth-commode and closet, if used by six personsdaily, will reqiiire, on an ayerage, about one hundred weightof earth per week. This may be dried for family use in a

drawer made to fit under the kitchen range, and which mayhe filled with earth one morning and left until the next.

The drawer should reach to within two inches of the bottombar of the grate. A frame with a handle, covered with

fine wire-netting, forming a kind of shovel, should beplaced on this drawer ; the finer ashes will fall through,

mixing with the earth, whUst the cinders will remain on

the top, to be, from time to time, thrown on the fire.

" Of course, the most economical method is to provide

in the summer-time a winter store of dry earth, which maybe kept in an out-house, shed, or' other convenient place,

just as we lay in a winter store of coals.

"THINGS TO BE OBSEBTED.

" Let one fall of earth be in the pail before uging,

" The earth must be dry and sifted. ,

" Sand must not be used.

" No ' slops ' must be thrown, down." The handle must be pulled up with a jerk, and let fall

sharply."

REPEATED USB OP EAKTH.

Concerning the value and use of the product of the earth-

closet, the following is copied from the London company's

circular. (It will be noticed that reference is made to the

repeated use of the same earth. When the ordm-e is com-

pletely dried and decomposed, it has not only lost its odor,

but it has become, like all decomposed organic matter, an

excellent disinfectant, and the fifth or sixth timq that the

same earth is passed through the closet it is fully as effective

in destroying odors as it was when used for the first time,


and of course each use adds to its value as manure, until it

becomes as strong as Peruvian guano, wMch is" now worth

seventy-five dollars per ton. In fact, it may be made so

rich that one hundredpounds will ie a good dressingfor an

acre of land)" If the closet is over a water-tight cesspool or pit, it will

require emptying at the end of three or six months. The

produce, which will be quite inodorous, should be thrown

together in a heap, sheltered from wet, and occasionally

turned over. At the end of a few weeks, it will be dry and

fit for iise.

" If the receptacle be an iron trough or pail, the contents

should be thrown together, re-dried, and Used over again,

foiu" or five times. In a few weeks they willbe dry and fit

for use ; the value being increased by repeated action. The

condition of the manui-e should be much the same as that

of guano, and fit for drilling.

The inventor of the earth-closet. Rev. Mr. Moule, says

:

" It was to this point (the power of earth or clajf to ab-

sorb the products of the decomposition of manure) but par-

ticularly to the repeated action, and consequently the re-

peated use of the same earth, that I first directed the

attention of the public. I then pointed out : First. That

a very small portion of dry and sifted earth (one and a

half pints) is sufiicient by covering the deposit, to prevent

fennentation, (which so soon sets in whenever water is used,)

and the consequent generation and emission of noxious

gases. Second. That if within a few hours, or even a few

days, the mass that would be formed by the repeated layers

of deposit, be intimately mixed by a coarse rake or spade,

or by a mixer made for the purpose, then, in five or ten

minutes, neither to the eye or sense of smell is anj thing

perceptible but so much earth. . . . When about three

cart-loads of sifted earth had thus been used for my family,

(which averaged fifteen persons,) and left under a shed, I

found that the material first employed was sufficiently dried

EARTH-CLOSETS. 417

to be used again. This process of alternate mixing anddrying was renewed five times, the earth still retaining its

absorbent powers apparently unimpaired. Of the visitors

taken to the spot, none could guess the nature of the com-post, though in some cases the heap which they visited in

the afternoon had been turned over that same morning. . .

" It, is only in towns, where the delivery, stowage, and

removal of earth is attended with cost and difficulty, that

any artificial aid for drying the compost would be desirable.

On premises not cramped for space, the atmosphere,

especially with a glass roof to the shed, will act sufiSciently

fast.

" You may by means of it (the earth system) have a privy

close to the house and a closet up-stairs, from neither of

which shall proceed any ofiensive smell or any noxious gas.

A projection from the back of the cottage, eight feet long

and six feet wide, would be amply sufficient for this purpose.

The nearer three or four feet down-stairs, would be occupied

by the privy, in which, by the seat, would be a receptacle

for dry earth. The 'soil' and earth would fall into the

further five or four feet, which would form the covered and

closed shed for mixing and drying. Up-stairs, the an*ange-

ment would be much the same, the deposit being made to

fall clear of every wall. Through this closet the removal

of noxious and offensive niatters in time of sickness, and of

slop-buckets, would be immediate and easy ; and if the shed

oelow be kept well supplied with earth, all effiuvium would

be almost immediately checked. As to the trouble which

this will cause, a very little experience will convince the

cottager that it is less instead of greater, than the women

generally go through at present, while the value of the

manure will afford an inducement to exertion.

" The truth is, that the machinery is more simple, much

less expensive, and far less liable to injury than that of the

water-closet. The supply of earth to the house is as easy


as that of coals. To the closet it may be supplied more

easily than water is supplied by a forcing-pump, and to the

commode it can be conveyed just as coal is carried to the

chamber. After use, it can be removed in either case by

the bucket or box placed under the seat, or from the fixed

reservoir, with less offense than that of the ordinary slo})-

bucket—indeed, (I speak after four years' experience,) witli

as little offense as is found in the removal of coal-ashes.

So that, while servants and others will shrink from novelt)'

and at iirst imagine difficulties, yet many, to my knowledge,

would now vastly prefer the daily removal of the bucket or

the soil to either the daily working of a forcing-pump or to

being called upon once a year, or once in three years, to

assist in emptying a vault or cesspool."

To the above complete and convincingly apt arguments

and statements of fact, we do not care to add any thing.

All that we desire is to direct public attention to the ad-

mirable qualities of this Earth System, and to suggest that,

at least for those living in the country away from the manyconveniences of city life, great water power, and mechanical

assistance, the use of it will conduce largely to the economyof families, the health of neighborhoods, and the increasing

fertility and prosperity of the country round about.

XXXVI.

WAEMnSTG AKD VENTILATION.

Thebe is no department of science, as applied to practical

matters, which has so often baffled experimenters as the

healthful mode of warraing and ventilating houses. TheBritish nation spent over a million on the House of Parlia-

ment for thib end, and failed. Our own government has

spent half a million on the Capitol, with worse failure ; and

now it is proposed to spend a million more. The reason is,

that the old open fireplace has been supplanted by less ex-

pensive modes of heating, destructive to health ; and science

has but just begun experiments to secure a remedy for the

evil.

The open fire warms the person, the walls, the floors and

the furniture by radiation, and these, together with the fire,

warm the air by convection. For the air resting on the

heated surfaces is warmed by convection, rises and gives

place to cooler particles, causing a constant heating of its

particles by movement. Thus in a room with an open fire,

the person is warmed in part by radiation from the fire

and the surrounding walls and fumittu-e, and in part by

the warm air surrounding the body.

In regard to the warmth of air, the thermometer is not

an exact index of its temperature. For all bodies are con-

stantly radiating their heat to cooler adjacent surfaces until

all come to the same temperature. This being so, the

thermometer is radiating its heat to walls and surrounding

objects, in addition to what is subtracted by the air that

surrounds it, and thus the air is really several degreeo

warmer than the thermometer indicates. A room at 70°

420 1'^^ HOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

by the thermometer is usually filled with air five or more

degrees warmer than this.

Now, the cold air is denser than warm, and therefore

contains more oxygen. Consequently, the cooler the air in-

spired, the larger the supply of oxygen and of the vitality

and vigor which it imparts. Thus, the great problem for

economy of health is to warm tlie person as much as pos-

sible by radiated heat, and supply the lungs with cool air.

For when we breathe air at from 16° to 20°, we take doubly

the amount of oxygen that we do when we inhale it at 80"

to 90°, and consequently can do double the amount of muscle

and brain work.

"Warming by an open fire is nearest to the natural mode

of the Creator, who heats the earth and its furnitui-e by the

great central fire of heaven, and sends cool breezes for omlungs. But open fires involve great destruction of fuel

and expenditure of money, and in consequence economic

methods have been introduced to the great destruction of

health and life.

Of these methods, the most popular is that by which ra-

diated heat is banished, and all warmth is gained by intro-

ducing heated air. This is the method employed in our

national Capitol, where both warming and ventilation are

attempted by means offans worked by steam, which force

in the heated air. This is an expensive mode, used only

for large establishments, and its entire failure at our capi-

tol will probably prevent in future any very extensive use

of it.

But the most common mode of warming is by heated air

introduced from a furnace. The chief objection to this is

the loss of all radiated heat, and the consequent necessity

of breathing air which is debilitating both from its heat andalso from being usually deprived of the requisite moisture

provided by the Creator in all out-door air. Another ob-

jection is the fact that it is important to health to preserve

an equal circulation of the blood, and the greatest impedi-

WABMINa ANB VENTILATION. 421

inent to this is a mode of heating which keeps the head in

warmer air than the feet. This is especially deleterious in anage and country where activie brains are constantly drawingblood from the extremities to the head. All furnace-

heated rooms have coldest air at the feet, and warmestaround the head. It is also rarely the case that furnace-

heated houses have proper an-angements for carrying off

the vitiated air.

There are some recent scientific discoveries that relate to

impure aii- which may pi'operly be introduced here. It is

shown by the microscope that fermentation is a process

which generates extremely minute plants, that gradually

increase till the whole mass is pervaded by this vegetation.

The microscope also has revealed the fact that, in certain

diseases, these microscopic plants are generated in the

blood and other fluids of the body, in a mode similar ti-

the ordinary process of fermentation.

And, what is very curious, each of these peculiar dis

eases generates diverse kinds of plants. Thus in the ty

phdid fever, the microscope reveals in the fluids of the

patient a plant that resembles in form some kinds of sea-

weed. In chills and fever, the microscopic plant has an-

other form, and in small-pox still another. A work has

recently been published in Europe, in which representa-

tions of these various microscopic plants generated in the

fluids of the diseased persons are exhibited, enlarged seve-

ral hundred times by the microscope. All diseases that

exhibit these microscopic plants are classed together, and

are called Zymotio, from a Greek word signifying to fer-

ment.

These zymotic diseases sometimes have a local origin, as

in the case of ague caused by miasma of swamps; and

then they are named endemic. In other cases, they are

caused by persona^ contact with the diseased body or its

clothing, as the itch or small-pox ; or else by effluvia from

the sick, as in measles. Such are called contagious or infec-


tious. In other cases, diseases result from some uaknown

cause in the atmosphere, and affect numbers of people at

the same time, as in influenza or scarlet fever, and these

are called epidemics.

It is now regarded as probable that most of these dis-

eases are generated by the microscopic plants which float

in an impure or miasmatic atmosphere, and are taken into

the blood by breathing.

Eecent scientific investigations ra Great Britain and

other countries prove that the power of resisting these dis-

eases depends upon the purity of the air which has been

habitually inspired. The human body gradually accom-

modates itself to unhealthful circumstances, so that people

can live a long time in bad air. But the " reserve power'-'

of the body, that is, the power of resisting disease, is under

such circumstances gradually destroyed, and then an epi-

demic easily sweeps away those thus enfeebled. The

plague of London, that destroyed thousands every day,

came immediately after a long period of damp, warm days,

when there was no wind tq, carry off the miasma thus

generated ; while the people, by long breathing of bad air,

were all prepared, from having sunk into a low vitality, to

faU before the pestilence.

Multitudes of public documents show that the fatality

of epidemics is always proportioned to the degree in which

impure air has previously been respired. Sickness and

death are therefore regulated by the degree in which air is

kept pure, especially in' case of diseases in which medical

treatment is most uncertain, as in cholera and malignant

fevers.

Investigations made by governmental authority, and by

boards of health in this country and in Great Britain, prove

that zymotic diseases ordinarily result from impure air

generated by vegotab e or animal decay, and that in almost

all cases they can be prevented by keeping the air pure.

The decayed animal matter sent off from the skin and

WABMING AND VENTUATION. 423

lungs in a close, unventilated bedroom is one thing that

generates these zymotic diseases. The decay of animal and

vegetable matter in cellars, sinks, drains, and marshy dis-

tricts is another cause ; and the decayed vegetable matter

thrown up by plowing up of decayed vegetable matter in

the rich soil in new countries is another.

In the investigations made in certain parts of Great

Britain, it appeared that in districts where the air is

pure the deaths average 11 iu 1000' each year ; while in

localities most exposed to impure miasma, the mortality

was 45 in every thousand. Af this rate, thirty-four per-

sons in every thousand died from poisoned air, who would

have preserved health and life by well-ventilated homes in

a pure atmosphere. And, out of all who died, the propor-

tion who owed their deaths to foul air was more than three

fourths. Similar facts have been obtained by boards of

health in our OAvn country.

Mr. Leeds gives statistics showing, that in Philadelphia,

by improved modes of ventilation and other sanitary me-

thods, there was a saving of 3237 lives in two years ;and

a saving of three fourths of a million of dollars, which

would pay the whole expense of the public schools. Phi-

ladelphia being previously an unusually cleanly and well-

ventilated city, what would be the saving of life, health,

and wealth were such a city -as l^J"ew-York perfectly

cleansed and ventilated?

Here it is proper to state again that conflicting opinions

are found in many writers on ventilation in regard to the

position of ventilating registers to carry off vitiated air.

Most writers state that the impure air is heavier, and falls

to the bottom of a room. After consulting scientific men

extensively on this point, the writer finds the true result

to be as follows : Carbonic acid is heavier than common

air, and, unmixed, falls to the floor. But by the principle

ofdifusion of gases, the air thrown from the lungs, though

at flrst it sinks a little, is gradually diffused, and in a heated

424 THE HOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL..

room, in the majority of cases, it is found more abundant-

ly at the top than at the bottom of the room, though mcertain circumstances it is more at the bottom. For this

reason, registers to carry off impure air should be placed at

both the top and bottom of a room.

In arranging for pure air in dwellings, it is needful to

proportion the air admitted and discharged to~the number

of persons. As a guide to this, we have the following cal-

culation : On an average, every adult vitiates about half a

pint of air at each inspiration, and inspires twenty times a

minute. This would amount to one hogshead of air vitiated

every hour by every grown person. To keep the air pure,

this amount should enter and be carried out every hour

for each person. If, then, ten persons assemble in a dining-

room, ten hogsheads of air should enter and ten be dis-

charged each hour. By the same rule, a gathering of five

hundred persons demands the entrance and discharge of

five hundred hogsheads of air every hour, and a thousand

persons require a thousand hogsheads of air every hour.

In calculating the size of registers and conductors, then,

we must have reference to the number of persons who are

to abide in a dwelling ; while for rooms or halls intended

for large gatherings, a far greater allowance must be

made.

The most successful mode before the public, both for

warming and ventilation, is that of Lewis Leeds, who wasemployed by government to ventilate the military hospi-

tals and also the treasury building at Washington. This

method has been adopted in various school-houses, and also

by A. T. Stewart in his hotel for women in New-YorkCity. The Leeds plan embraces the mode of heating both

by radiation and convection, very much resembling the

open fireplace in operation, and yet securing great econo-

my. It is modeled striitly after the mode adopted by the

Ci-eator in warming and ventilating the earth, the home of

his great earthly family. It aims to have a passage of pure

WARMING, AND VENTILATION. 425

air through every room, as the breezes pass over the hills,

and to have a method of warming chiefly hy radiation, as

the earth is warmed by the sun. In addition to this, the

air is to be provided with moisture, as it is supplied out-

doors by exhalations from the earth and its trees and

plants.

The mode of accomplishing this is by placing coils of

steam, or hot water pipes, under windows, which wai-m the

parlor walls and furniture, partly by radiation, and partly

by the air warmed on the heated surfaces of the coils. At

the same time, by regulating registers, or by simply opening

the lower part of the window, the pure air, guarded from

immediate entrance into the room, is admitted directly

upon the coils, so that it is partially wanned before it

reaches the person : and thus' cold drafts are prevented.

Then the vitiated air is dra,wn off through registers both

at the top and bottom of the room, opening into a heated

exhausting flue, through which the constantly ascending

current of warm air carries it off. These heated coils are

often used for warming houses without any arrangement

for carrying off the vitiated air, when, of course, their pecu-

liar usefulness is gone.

The moisture may be supplied by a broad vessel placed

on or close to the heated coils, giving a large surface for

evaporation. When rooms are warmed chiefly by radiated

heat, the air can be borne much cooler than in roomswarmed

by hot-air furnaces, just as a person in the radiating sun can

bear much cooler air than in the shade. A time will come

when walls and floors will be contrived to radiate heat in

stead of absorbing it from the occupants of houses, as is

generally the case at the present time, and then all can

breathe pure and cool air.

We are now prepared to examine more in detail the

modes of warming and ventilation employed in the dwell-

ings planned for tliis work.

In doing this, it should be remembered that the aim is not

426 THE EOUSEKEEPPE'S MANUAL.

to give pians of houses to suit the architectural taste or the

domestic convenience of persons who intend to keep several

servants, and care little whether they breathe pure or bad

air, nor of persons -who do not wish to educate their children

to manual industry or to habits of close economy.

On the contrary, the aim is, first, to secure a house in

which every room shall be perfectly ventilated both day and

night, and that too vnthout the watchful care and constant

attention and intelligence needful in houses not provided

with a proper and successful mode of ventilation.

The next aim is, to arrange the conveniences of domestic

labor so as to save time, and also to render such work less

repulsive than it is made by common methods, so that chil-

dren can be trained to love house-work. And lastly, econo-

my of expense in house-btiilding is sought. These things

should be borne in mind in examining the plans of this

work.

In the Cottage plan, (Chap II. Fig. 1,) the pure air for

rooms on the ground floor is to be introduced by a wooden

conductor one foot square, running under ,the jloor ffom

the front door to the stove-room ; with cross branches to

the two large rooms. The pure air passes through this,

protected outside by wire netting, and delivered inside

through registers in each room, as indicated in Fig. 1.

In case open Franklin stoves are used in the large rooms,

the pure air from the conductor should enter behind them,

and thus be partially warmed. The vitiated air is carried

off at the bottom of the room through the open stoves, and

also at the top by a register opening into a conductor to the

exhausting warm-air shaft, which, it will be remembered,

is the square chimney, containing the iron pipe which re-

ceives the kitchen stove-pipe. The stove-room receives pxu-e

air from the conductor, and sends off impure air and the

smells of cooking by a register opening directly into the

exhausting shaft ; while its hot* air and smoke, passing

through the iron pipe, heat the air of the shaft, and produce

WARMING AND VENTILATION. 42'J

the exhausting current. The construction of the exhausting

or warm-air shaft is described on page 63.

The large chambers on the second floor (Fig. 12) havepure air conducted from the stove-room through registers

that can be closed if the heat or smells of cooking are un-

pleasant. The air in the stove-room will always be moist

from the water of the stove boiler.

The small chambers have pure air admitted from windowssunk at top half an inch ; and the warm, vitiated air is con-,

ducted by a register in the ceiling which opens inio a con-

ductor to the exhausting wann-air shaft at the centre of the

house, as shown in Fig. 17.

The basement or cellar is ventilated by an opening into

the exhausting air shaft, to remove impure air, and a small

opening over each glazed door to admit pure air. The doors

open out into a " well," or recess, excavated in the earth

before the cellar, for the admission of light and air, neatly

bricked up and whitewashed. The doors are to be madeentirely of strong, thick glass sashes, and this will give light

enough for laundry work ; the tubs and ironing-table being

placed close to the glazed door. The floor must be plas-

tered with water-lime, and the walls and ceiling be white-

. washed, which will add reflected light to the room. There

will thus be no need of other windows, and the house

need not be raised above the ground. Several cottages have

been built thus, so that the ground floors and conservatories

are nearly on the same level ; and all agree that they are

pleasanter than when raised higher.

When a window in any room is sunk at the top, it should

have a narrow shelf In front inclined to the opening, so as

to keep out the rain. In small chambers for one person, an

inch opening is sufficient, and in larger rooms for two per-

sons, a two-inch opening is needed. The openings into the

exhausting air flue should vary from eight inches to twelve

inches square, or more, according to the munber of persons

who are to sleep in the room.


The time when ventilation is most difficult is tnemediiiTG

weather in spring and fall, when the air, though damp, is

similar in temperature outside and in. Then the warm-air

flue is indispensable to proper ventilation. This is especially

needed in a room used for school or church purposes.

Every room used for large numbers should have its air

regulated not only as to its' warmth and purity, but also as

to its supply of moisture ; and for this purpose vtIU be found

very convenient the instrument called the Hygrodeik,*

which shows at once the temperature and the moisture. Awork by Dr. Derby on Anthracite Coal, scientific men say

has done much mischief by an unproved theory that the dis-

comfort of furnace heat is caused by the passage of car-

bonic oxide through the iron of the fm-nace heaters, and not

by want of moisture. God made the air right, and taking

out its moisture must be wi'ong.

The preceding remarks illustrate the advantages of the

cottage plan in respect to ventilation. The' economy of

the mode of warming next demands attention. In the first

place, it should be noted that the chimney being at the

centre of the house, no heat is lost by its radiation through

outside walls into open air, as is the ease with all fireplaces

and grates that have their backs and flues joined to an out-

side wall. .

In this plan, all the radiated heat from the stove serve^

to warm the walls of adjacent rooms in cold weather ; while

in the warm season, the non-conducting summer casings of

the stove send all the heat not used in cooking either into

the exhausting warm-air shaft or into the central cast-iron

pipe. In addition to this, the sliding doors of the stove-room

(which should be only six feet high, meeting the partition

coming from the ceiling) can be opened in cool days, and

then the heat from the stove would temper the rooms each

side of the kitchen. In hot weather, they could be kept

* It is manufactured by N. M. Lowe, Boston, and sold by him and J.

Queen & Co., Pliiladelpliia

WABMINQ AND VENTILATION, 429

closed except when the stove is used, and then opened only

for a short thne. The Franklin stoves in the large roomwould give the radiating warmth and cheerM blaze of an

open fire, while radiating heat also from all their surfaces.

In cold weather, the air of the larger chambers could be

tempered by registers admitting warm air from the stove-

room, which would always be sufficiently moistened Ijy

evaporation from the stationary boiler. The conservato-

ries in winter, protected from frost by double sashes, would

contribute agreeable moisture to the larger rooms. In case

the size of a family required more rooms, another story

could be ventilated and warmed by the same mode, with

little additional expense.

We wiU next notice the economy of time, labor, and

expense secured by this cottage plan. The laundfy work

being done in the basement, all the cooking, dish-washing,

etc., can be done in the kitchen and stove-room on the

ground floor. But in case a larger kitchen is needed, the

lounges can be put in the front part of the large room, and

the movable screen placed so as to give a work-room adja-

cent to the kitchen, and the front side of the same be used

for the eating-room. Where the movable screen is used,

the floor should be oiled wood. A square piece of carpet dan

be put in the centre of the front part of the room, to keep

the feet warm when sitting around the table, and small

rugs can be placed before the lounges or other sitting-places,

for the same purpose.

Most cottages are so divided by entries, stairs, closets,

etc., that there can be no large rooms. But in this plan,

by the use of the movable screen, two fine large rooms can

be secured whenever the family work is over, while the

conveniences for work will very much lessen the time

required.

In certain cases, where the closest economy is needful,

two small families can occupy the cottage, by having a

movable screen in both rooms, and using the kitchen in

.130 THE HOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

common, or divide it and have two smaller stoves. Each

kitchen will then have a window and as much room as is

given to the kitchen in great steamers that provide for

several hundred.

Whoever plans a house with a view to economy must

arrange rooms around a central chimney, and avoid all pro-

jecting appendages. Dormer windows are far more ex

pensive than common ones, and are less pleasant. Every

addition projecting from a main building greatly increases

expense of building, and still more of warming and venti-

lating.

It should be introduced, as one school exercise in every

female seminary, to plan houses with reference to economy

of time, labor, and expense, and also with reference to good

architectural taste ; and the teacher should be qualified to

point out faults and give the instruction needed to prevent

such mistakes in practical life. Every girl should be

trained to be "a wise woman" that "buildeth her house"

aright.

There is but one mode of ventilation yet tried, that will,

at all seasons of the year and all hours of the day and

night, secure pure air without dangerous draughts, and that

is by an exhausting warm-air flue. This is always secured

by an open fireplace, so long as its chimney is kept warmby any fire. And in many cases, a fireplace with a flue qi

a certain dimension and height will secure good ventilation

except when the air without and within are at the same

temperature.

When no exhausting warm-air flue can be used, the

opening of doors and windows is the only resort. Every

sleeping-room without a fireplace that draws smoke well

should have a window raised at the bottom or sunk at the

top at least an inch, with an inclined shelf outside or in, to

keep out rain, and then it is properly ventilated. Or a

door should be kept opened into a hall with an open win-

dow. Let the bed-clothing be increased, so as to keep warm

WASHONO AND VENTILATION. 431

in bed, and protect the head also, and then the more air

comes into a sleeping-room the better for health.

In reference to the warming of rooms and houses alreadybuilt, there is no doubt' that stoves are the most economi-cal mode, as they radiate heat and also warm by convec-tion. The grand objection to their use is the diiiiculty of

securing proper ventilation. If a room is well warmed bya stove and then a suitable opening made for the entrance

of a good supply of out-door air, and by a mode that will

prevent dangerous draughts, all is right as to pure air.

But in this case, the feet are always on cold floors, sur-

rounded by the coldest air, while the head is in air of

much higher temperature.

There is a great difference as to healthfiilness and econo-

my in the, great variety of stoves with which the market is

filled. The competition in this manufacture is so strin-

gent, and so many devices are employed by agents, that

there is constant and enormous imposition on the public

and an incredible outlay on poor stoves, that soon burn

out or break, while they devour fuel beyond calculation.

If some benevolent and scientific organization could be

formed that would, fi"om disinterested motives, afford some

reliable guidance to the public, it probably would save

both millions of money and much domestic discomfort.

The stove described in Chapter V. is protected by pa-

tents in its chief advantages, but this has not restrained

many of the trade from incorporating some of its leading

excellencies and claiming to have added superior elements.

Others will inform any who inquire for it, that it is out of

market, because later stoves have proved superior. Should

any who read this work wish to be sure of securing this

stove, and also of gaining minute directions for its use, they

may apply to the writer. Miss C. E. Beecher, 69 West 38th

Street, New-York, inclosing 25 cents.

She will then forward the manufacturers' printed descrip-

tive circulars, and her own advice as to the best selection

432 • THE HOUSEKEEPER'S MANUAL.

from the different sizes, and directions for its use, based on

her own personal experience and that of many friends.

Should any purchases be made through this medium, the

manufacturers have agreed to pay a certain percentage

into the treasury of the Benevolent Association mentioned

at the close of this volume.

There is no more dangerous mode of heating a room

than by a gas-stove. < There is inevitably more or less

leakage of the gas which it is unhealthful to breathe.

Ahd proper ventilation is scarcely ever secured by those

who use such stoves. The same fatal elements of imper-

fect ventilation with its attendant horrors of disease, ex-

travagant wastefulness of material, of fuel, of labor, of

time, and of destruction to the apparatus itself, seem con-

comitants of all ordinary stoves and cooking arrangements

of the present day, unless those who use them are constant

and unretaiitting in the exercise of intelligent watchfalness,

guarding against these evils. And in view of the almost

inevitable stupidity and carelessness of servants, who gen-

erally have charge of such things, and the frequent

thoughtlessness even of intelligent women who managetheir own kitchens, the writer believes she is doing a pub-

lic service by offering her own experience as a guide to

simpler, cheaper, and more wholesome means of living and

preparing the family food.

THE HOUSEKEEPEE'S MANUAL.

Part II.

THE HANDY COOK-BOOK.

I.

HEALTH, ECONOMY, AND PLEASUEE, IN FOOD.

The following are the special advantages of the following

pages

:

The directions for preparing and cooking food provide a

large variety of articles which, according to all medical andphysiological rules, are healthful.

There is also a good variety of dishes which are economical.

There are unusual contrivances for saving time and labor in

cooking, having special reference to women of culture in newsettlements, who have few conveniences, poor markets, andeither poor servants or none at all.

As the relish of food depends chiefly on the proper season-

ings and flavors, there are more specific methods given than

the ordinary rule, " season to the taste," which leaves all to the

judgment of the careless or the ignorant.

The recipes are put in short arul clear language, so as to be

easily read and understood by servants, and also more readily

remembered.

These recipes and directions have been criticised arid tested

by some of the best housekeepers of all sections of the nation.

RULES OF HEALTH IN EEGABD TO FOOD AND DEINK.

Always eat slowly and chew very thoroughly, as this greatly

aids digestion.

Do not eat between meals, because this mixes the partly

digested food" with the new supply, and impedes digestion.

434 THE HOUSEKEEPEI^S MANUAL.

Meals should be about five hours apart, to give the stomach

time to rest after the labor of the muscles in digestion.

Do not eat too much, as this tends to indigestion and taxes

the organs that must labor to throw off the excess. A health-

ful appetite is a safe guide, if meals are at regular and jsroper

periods, the food simple, and nothing is taken after hunger is

satisfied. Successive dishes of food are unwise for children and

invalids, tempting them to eat too much. Children should

have the kind of food they like best, if it is healthful, and

should make their whole meal of it. Soups, and then meats,

and then tempting desserts, are very dangerous to the youngand the delicate, who have formed no habits of self-control, or

are ignorant of their dangers.

Do not require children to eat what they do not relish, as it

is proved by many experiments that food which is relished is

better digested and more healthful than that which is not.

This shows the importance of care in seasoning food properly,

and of rules to aid in so doing.

Do not multiply dishes for one meal, but rather have a

variety at successive meals ; for digestion is easier and moreperfect when there are but few articles taken at ohe meal, anagrows more diificult as the variety increases.

Food and drinks should not be very hot, as this tends to de-

stroy the teeth.

Drink moderately while eating—one tumbler or tea-cuptui

only. If thirsty, drink freely before eating.

Do not drink very cold water or take ices after a full meal,

as cooling the stomach lessens the power of digestion.

Do not drink tea or coffee, except when so largely diluted as

not to stimulate. It will be found that a gradual diminution

of strength in these drinks will modify one's taste, so that after

a few months, weak dilutions will be relished as much as

strong. An expert housekeeper can change dangerous habits

in this way with little trouble, and sometimes without notice

by those benefited.

Be careful to have pure water to drink, as most important to

health. If water is impure, filter it through sand andpowderedcharcoal. The free drinking of pure, cold water before meals

BEALTB, ECONOMY, AND PLEASURE, IN FOOD. 435

is healthful, tending to purify the blood, strengthen the sto-

mach, and thus promoting digestion.

In using salt and pepper, diversities of strength make a diffi-

culty in giving very exact directions ; so also do inequalities in

the size of spoons and tumblers. But so much can be donethat a housekeeper, after one trial, can give exact directions to

her cook, or with a pencil alter the recipe.

It is a great convenience to have recipes that employ mea-

sures which all families have on hand, so as not to use steel-

yards and balances. The following will be found the most

convenient

:

A medium size tearspoon, even full, equals 60 drops or one eighth of an

ounce.

A medium size table-spoon, even full, equals two tea-spoonfuls.

One ounce equals eight even tea-spoonfuls, or four table-spoonfuls.

One gill equals eight even table-spoonfuls.

Half a gill equals four even table-spoonfuls.

Two gills equal half a pint, and four gills equal one pint.

One common size tumbler equals half a pint, or two gills.

One pint equals two tumblerfuls, or four gills.

One quart equals four tumblerfuls, or eight gills.

Four quarts equal one gallon.

Four gallons equal one peck.

Four pecks equal one bushel.

A quart of sifted flour, heaped, a sifted quart of sugar, and' a softened

quart of butter each weigh about a pound, and so nearly that measuring

is as good as weighing.

Water is heavier, and a pint of water weighs nearly a pound.

Ten eggs <veigh about one pouno.

II.

MAEKETISTG AND THE CAEE OF MEATS.

EvEET young woman, at some period of her life, may need

the instructions of this chapter. Thousands will have the im-

mediate care of buying meats for the family ; and even those

who are not themselves obliged to go to market, should have

the knowledge which will enable them to direct their servants

what and how to buy, and to judge whether the household,

under their management, is properly served or not. Nothing

so thoroughly insures the intelligent obedience of orders, as

evidence that the person ordering knows exactly what is wanted.

The directions given in this and the ensuing chapters on

meats, were carefully written, first in Cincinnati, with the

counsel and advice of business men practically engaged in

such matters. They have been recently rewritten in Hartford,

Conn., after consultation with intelligent butchers and grocers.

MARKETING.

The animal, when slaughtered, should be bled very thorough-

ly. The care taken by the Jews in this and other points draws

custom from other sects to their markets. The skin is tanned

for leather, and the fat is used for candles and other purposes.

The tail is used for soups, and the liver, heart, and tripe are also

used for cooking. The body is split into two parts, through

the back-bone, and each half is divided as marked in the draw-

ing above. There are diverse modes of cutting and naming

the parts, butchers in New-England, in New-York, in the

South, and in the West, all making some slight differences

;

but the following is the most common method.

iLABKHTINa AND THB CAS.E OF MEATS.

Fig. 71.

437

1. The head : frequently used for mince-pies ; sometimes it is tried upfor oil, and tlien the bones are used for fertilizers. The horns are usedto make buttons and combs, and various other things. 3. The neck ;used for soups and stews. 3. The chuck-rib, or shovlder, having four ribs.

It is used for corning, stews, and soup, and some say the best steaks are

from this piece. 4. The front of the shoulder, or the shoulder-clod, which

is sometimes called the hrisket. 5. The hack of the shoulder ; used for

corning, soups, and stews. 6. The fore-shin, or leg ; used for soups. 7,

7. The plate-pieces ; the front one is called the brisket, (as is also 4,) and

is used for corning, soups, and stews. The back plate-piece is called the

jlank, and is divided into the thick flank, or upper sirloin, and the lower

fiank. These are for roasting and corning. 8. The standing ribs, di-

vided into first, second, and third cuts ; used for roasting. The second

cut is the best of the three. 9. The sirloin, which is the best roasting

piece. 10. The mrloin steak and the porter-house steak ; used for broil-

ing. 11. The rump, or aiteli-bone ; used for soup or corning, or to cook

a la mode. 12. The round, or buttock ; used for corning, or for a la mode ;

also for dried beef. 13. The liock, or hind sliank ; iised for soups.

In selecting -Bee/", choose that which has a loose grain, easily-

yielding to pressure, of a clear red, with whitish fat. If the

lean is purplish, and the fat yellow, it is poor beef. Beef long

kept turns a darker color than fresh killed. Stall-fed beef has

a lighter color than grass-fed.

Ox beef is the best, and next, that of a heifer.

In cold weather, it is economical to buy a hind quarter ; have

it cut up, and what is not wanted immediately, pack with snow

in a barrel. All meat's grow tender by keeping. Do not let

meats freeze ; if they do, thaw them in cold water, and do not

438 TMS housekeeper's MANUAL.

cook it till fully thawed. A piece -weighing ten pounds requires

ten or twelve hours to thaw.

Fig. 72.

VBAX.

The calf should not be slaughtered until it is six weeks old.

Spring is the best time for veal. It is divided as marked in

the drawing.

1. The liead, Bold with tlie pluck, which includes the Jiea/rt, liver, and

sweet-breads. 3. The rack, including the neck ; used for stews, pot-pies,

and broths ; also for chops and roasting. 3. The shoulder. This, and

also half the rack and ribs of the fore-quarter, are sometimes roasted, and

sometimes xised for stews, broths, and cutlets. 4. The fore-shank, or

knuckle; used for broths. 5. The breast; used for stewa and soups;

also to stuff and bake. 6. The loin ; used for roasting. 7. The fiUet, or

leg, including the hind flank ; used for cutlets, or to stuff and boil, or to

stuff and roast, or bake. 8. The hind shank, or Jiock, or knuckle ; used

for soups. The feet SiXe used for jelly.

In selecting Veal, take that which is firm and dry, and the

joints stifl^ having the lean a delicate red, the kidney covered

with fat, and the fat very white. Ifyou buy the head, see that

the eyes are plump and lively, and not dull and sunk in the

head. If you buy the legs, get those which are not skinned, as

the skin is good for jelly or soup.

MABKETINO AND THE CARE OF MEATS.

Fig. 73.

4»9

MUTTON.

1. The shoulder ; for boiling or corning. 3, 3. The neck and rack ; for

boiling or coming. 3. The loin ; is roasted, or broiled as chops. 4. Theleg; is boiled, or broiled, or stuffed and roasted. Many salt and smokethe leg, and call it smoked venison. 5. The hreaat ; for boiling or

corning.

In choosing Mutton, take that which is bright red and close-

grained, with firm and white fat. The meat should feel ten-

der and springy on pressure. Notice the vein on the neck of

the fore-quarter, which should be a fine blue.

Pig. 74.

POBK.

1. The Z«5', or Mire ; used for smoking. 3 TheJiindloin. 3. The /oris,

lin. 4. The spareîb ; for roasting ; sometimes including all the ribs.

J. The Tiand, or alioulder ; sometimes smoked, and sometimes corned and

boiled. 6. The heUy, or spring, for corning or salting down. The feet

are used for jelly, headcheese, and souse.

In selecting I'ork, if young, the lean can be easily broken

when pinched, and the skin can be indented by nipping with

the fingers. The fat also will be white and soft. Thin rind is

best.


In selecting Sams, run a knife along the bone, and if it comes

out clean, the ham is good ; but if it comes out smeared, it is

spoiled. Good bacon has white fat, and the lean adheres close-

ly to the bone. If the bacon has yellow streaks, it is rusty, and

not fit to use.

In selecting Poultry, choose those that are full grown, but

not old. When young and fresh-killed, the skin is thin and

tender, the joints not very stiff, and the eyes full and bright. The

breast-bone shows the age, as it easily yields to pi-essure if

young, and is tough when old. If young, you cau Avith a pin

easily tear the skiii. A goose, when old, has red and hairy

legs ; but when young, they are yellow, and have few hairs.

The pin-feathers are the roots of feathers, which wreak ofi" and

remain in the skin, and always indicate a young bird. Whenvery neatly dressed, they are pulled out.

Poultry and birds ought to be killed by having the head cut

off, and then hung up by tlie legs to bleed freely. This makes

the flesh white and more healthful.

In selecting Fish, take those that are firm and thick, having

stiff fins and bright scales, the gills bright red, and the eyes full

and prominent. When fish are long out of water, they grow

soft, the fins bend easily, the scales are dim, the gills growdark, and the eyes sink and shrink away. Be sure and have'

them dressed immediately ; sprinkle then\ with salt, and use

them, if possible, the same day. In warm weather, put them in

ice, or corning, for the next day.

Shell-fish can be decided upon only by the smell. Lobsters

are not good unless alive, or else boiled before offered for sale.

They are black when alive, and red when boiled. When to be '

boiled, they are to be put alive into boiling water, which is the

quickest and least cruel way to end their life.

MARKETING AND THE CARE OF MEATS. 441

THE CARE OF MEATS.

In hot -weather, if there is no refrigerator, then wipe meatdry, sprinlde on a little salt and pepper, and hang in the cellar.

Or, still better, wrap it, thus prepared, in a dry cloth, and coverit with charcoal or with wood-ashes. Mutton, wrapped in a

cloth wet with vinegar, and laid on the ground of a dry cellar,

keeps well and improves in tenderness.

Hang meat a day or two after it is killed before corning it.

In winter, meat is kept finely if well packed in snow, without

salting ; but some say it lessens the sweetness.

Frozen meat must be thawed in cold water, and not cooked

tUl entirely thawed.

Beef and mutton are improved by keeping as long as they

remain sweet. If meat begins to taint, wash it and rub *t with

powdered charcoal, which it often removes the taint. Some-

times rubbing with salt will cure it. Soda water is good also.

Take all the kernels out that you will find in the round, and

thick end of the flank of beef, and in the fat, and fill the holes

with salt. This will preserve it longer.

Salt your meat, in summer, as soon as you receive it.

A pound and a half of salt rubbed into twenty-five pounds

of beef, will corn it so as to last several days in ordinary v/ârm

weather; or put it in strong brine.

In most books of recipes there are several different ones for

coming, for curing pork hams, and for other uses, while an in-

experienced person is at a loss to know which is best. The re-

cipes here given are decided to be the best, after an examination

of quite a variety, by the writer, who has resided where they

were used ; and she knows that the very best results are secured

by these directions. These also are pronounced the best by

busmess men of large experience.

To Salt down Beef to keep the Tear round.—One liundred pounds

of beef ; four quarts of rock-salt, pounded fine ; four ounces of saltpetre,

pounded fine ; four pounds of brown sugar. Mix well. Put a layer of

meat on the bottom of the barrel, with a thin layer of this mixture under

it. Pack the meat in layers, and between each put equal proportions of

this mixture, allowing a little more to the top layers. Then pour in

brine till the barrel is full.

442 THE housekeeper's MANUAL.

To cleanse Calf's Head and Feet.—Wasli clean, and sprinkle pound-

ed resin over tlie hair ; dip in boiling water and take out immediately,

and then scrape them clean ; then soak them in water for four days,

changing the water every day.

To prepare Rennet.—Take the stomach of a new-killed calf, and do

not wash it, as it weakens the gastric juice. Hang it in a cool and dry

place five days or so ; then turn the inside out, and slip off the curds

with the hand. Then fill it with salt, with a little saltpetre mixed in,

and lay it in a stone pot, pouring on a tea-spoonful of vinegar, and sprink-

ling on a handful of salt. Cover it closely, and keep for use. After six

weeks, take a piece four inches square and put it in a bottle with fiv^ gills

ot cold water and two gills of rose brandy ; stop it close, and shake it

when you use it. A. table-spoonful is enough for a quart of milk.

To salt down Fish.—Scale, cut off the heads, open down the back, and

remove most of the spine, to have them keep bt-tter. Lay them in salt

water two hours, to extract blood. Sprinkle with fine salt, and let themlie over night. Then mix one peck of coarse and fine salt, one ounc6 of

saltpetre, (or half an ounce of saltpetre and half an ounce of saleratus,)

and one pound of sugar. Then pack in a firkin. Begin with a layer of

salt, then a layer of fish, skin downward. A peck of salt will answer for

twenty-five shad, and other fish in proportion.

As in most country faniilies, when meat is salted for the

year's use, pork is the meat most generally and most largely

relied upon, considerable space is devoted to its proper prepa-

ration. Special attention is given to various modes of curing

and preserving it.

To try out Lard.—Take what is called the leaves, and take off all the

skin, cut it into pieces an inch square, put it into a clean pot over a slowfire, and try it till the scraps look a reddish-brown, taking great care not

to let it burn, which would spoil the whole. Then strain it through astrong cloth, into a stone pot, and set it away for use.

Take the fat to which the smaller intestines are attached, (not the

large ones,) and the fiabby pieces of pork not fit for salting, try these in

the same way, and set the fat thus obtained where it will freeze, and byspring the strong taste will be gone, and then it can be used for frying.

A tea-cup of water prevents burning while trying.

Corn-fed pork is best. Pork made by still-house slops is al-

most poisonous, and hogs that live on offal never furnish health-

ful food. If hogs are properly fed, the pork is not unhealthful.

MARKETING AND. THE CARE OF MEATS. 443

Pork with kernels in it is measly, and is unwholesome.A thick skin shows that the pork is old, and that it requires

more time to boil. If bought pork is very salt, soak it somehours. Do not let pork freeze, if you intend to salt it.

The gentleman who uses the following recipe for curing porkhams, says it has these advantages over all others he has tried

or heard of, namely, the hams thus cured are sweeter than byany other method ; they are more solid and tender, and are

cured in less than half the time. Moreover, they do not attract

flies so much as other methods

:

Recipe for Molasses-cnred Hams.—Moisten every part of the liam

witli molasses, and then for every hundred pounds use on-e quart of fine

salt and four ounces of saltpetre, rubbing them in very thoroughly at

every point. Put the hams thus prepared in a tight cask for four days.

Then rub again with molasses and one quart of salt, and return the hamsto the cask for four days. Repeat this the third and the fourth time,

and then smoke the hams. This process takes only sixteen days, while

other methods require five or six weeks.

The following is the best recipe for the ordinary mode of

curing hams ; and the brine or pickle thus prepared is equally

good for coming and all other purposes for which brine is

used. Some persons use saleratus instead of the saltpetre, ajid

others use half and half of each, and say it is an improvement

:

Brine or Pickle for corning Hams, Beef, Pork, and Hun^ Beef.

—Four gallons of water ; two pounds of rock-salt, and a little more of

common salt ; two ounces of saltpetre ; one quart of molasses. Mix, but

do not boil. Put the hams in a barrel and pour this over them, and

keep them covered with I for six weeks. If more brine is needed, make

it in the same proportions.

Brine for Beef, Pork, Tongues, and Hung Beef.—Four gallons of

water ; one and a half pounds of sugar ; one ounce of saltpetre ; one

ounce of saleratus. Add salt ; a id if it is for use only a month or two,

use six pounds of salt ; if for all the year, use nine pounds. In hot

weather, rub the meat with salt before putting it in, and let it lie for

three hours, to extract the blood. When tongues and hung beef are taken

out, wash the 'pieces, and, when smoked, put them in paper bags, and

hang in a dry place.

444 THE SOUSEKJEEPER S MANUAL.

Brine by Measure, easily made.—One gallon of cold water ; one

quart of rock-salt, and two of blown salt ; one heaping table-spoonful of

saltpetre, (or half as much of saleratus, with half a table-spoonful of salt-

petre ;) six heaping table-spoonfuls of brown sugar. Mix, but not boil.

Keep it as long as salt remains undissolved at bottom. When scum

rises, add more salt, sugar, saltpetre, and soda.

To salt down Pork.—Allow a peck of salt for sixty pounds. Cover

the bottom of the barrel with salt an inch deep. Put down one layer of

pork, and cover that with salt half an inch thick. Continue thus till the

barrel is full. Then pour in as much strong brine as the barrel will re-

ceive. Keep coarse salt between all pieces, so that the brine can circu-

late. When a white scum or bloody-looking matter rises on the top,

Bcald the brine and add more salt. Leave out bloody and lean pieces for

sausages. Pack as tight as possible, the rind next the barrel ; and let it

be always kept under the brine. Some use a stone for this purpose. In

salting down a new supply, take the old brine, boil it down and remove

all the scum, and then use it to pour over the pork. The pork may be

used in six weeks after salting.

To prepare Cases for Sausages.—Empty the cases, taking care not

to tear them. Wash them thoroughly, and cut into lengths of two yards

each. Then take a candle-rod, and fastening one end of a case to the top

of it, turn the case inside outward. When all are turned, wash very

thoroughly, and scrape them with a scraper made for the purpose, keep-

ing them in warm water till ready to scrape; Throw them into salt and

water to soak till used. It is a very difficult job to scrape them clean

without tearing them. When finished, they look transparent and very

thin.

Sausage-Meat.—Take one third fat and two thirds lean pork, and

chop It ; and then to every twelve pounds of meat add twelve large even

spoonfuls of pounded salt, nine of sifted sage, and six of sifted black pep-

per. Some like a little summer-savory. Keep it in a cool and dry place.

Another Recipe.—To twenty-five pounds of chopped meat, which

should be one third fat and two thirds lean, put twenty spoonfuls of sage,

twenty-five of salt, ten of pepper, and four of summer-savory.

Bologna Sausages.—Take equal portions of veal, pork, and ham

;

chop them fine ; season with sweet herbs and pepper; put them in cases

;

boil them till tender, and then dry them.

To Smoke Hams.—Make a small building of boards, nailing strips

over the cracks to confine the smoke. Have within cross-sticks, on which

MARKETING AND THE CARE OF MEATS. 445

to hang the hams. Have only one opening at top, at the end furthest

from the fire. Set it up so high that a small stove can be set underor very near it, with the smoke-pipe entering the floor at the opposite

end from the slide. These directions are for a wooden house, and it is

better thus than to have a fire mthin a brick house, because too muchwarmth lessens the flavor and tenderness of the hams. Change the posi-

tion of the hams once or twice, tht, all are treated alike. When this

can not be done, use an inverted barrel or hogshead, with a hole for the

smoke to escape, and resting on stones ; and keep a small, smouldering

fire. Cobs are best) as giving a better' flavor ; and brands or chips of

walnut wood are next best. Keeping a small fire a longer time is better

than quicker smoking, as too much heat gives the hams a strong taste,

and they are less sweet.

The house and barrel are shown in Pig. 75, which follows

:

Fig. 75.

EC.

STEWS AND SOtrPS.

The most economical modes of cooking, as to time, care, and

labor, are stews, soups, and hashes ; and when prpperly sea-

soned, they are great favorites, especially with children.

Below is a drawing of a stew and soup-kettle that any tin-

man can easily make. Its advantages are that, after the meat is

put in, there is no danger of scorching, and no watching is re-

quired, except to keep up the fire aright, so as to have a steady

simmering. Another advantage is that, by the tight cover, the

steam and flavors are confined, and the cooking thus improved.

Then, in taking up the stew, it offers several conveniences, as

will be found on trial.

Fig. 76.

This stew-kettle consists of two pans, the inner one not

fastened but fitting tight to the outer, with holes the size of a

large pin-head commencing half an inch from the bottom and

continuing to within two inches of the top of the under pan.

It has a flat lid, on which may be placed a weight, to confine

steam and flavors. The holes may be an inch apart. The size

STSWS AND SOUPS. 447

of the kettle miist depend on the size of the family ; it may-

be of any desired size.

GENEEAl DIEBOTIONS.

Generally, in making stews, use soft water ; but when only

hard is at hand, put in half a tea-spoonful of soda to every two

quarts of water. Put in all the bones ai^d gristle first, break-

ing the bones thoroughly.

Rub fresh meat with salt, and put it in cold water, for soups,

as this extracts the juices.

As soon as water begins to boil, skim repeatedly till no more

scum rises.

Never let water boil hard for soups or stews ; for

" Meat fast boiled

Is meat lialf spoiled."

Let the water simmer gently and not stop simmering long,

as this injures both looks and flavor.

Keep in water enough to cover the meat, or it becomes

hard and dark.

In preparing for soups, it is best to make a good deal of

broth at one time ; cool it slowly, first removing sediment by

straining through a colander. When cold, remove the fat

from the top, and keep the liquor for soups and gravies. This

is called stock, and as such should have no other seasonmg

than salt. The other seasoning is to be put in when heated

and combined with other material for soup.

In hot weather, stock will keep only a day or two ;but in

cool weather, three or four days. If vegetables were boiled in

it, it will turn sour sooner.

Remnants of cooked meats may be used together for soup

;

but take care that none is tainted, thus spoiling all. Liquor

in which corned beef is boiled should be saved to mix with

stock of fresh meat, and then little or no salt is needed. The

recipes for stews that follow will make good soups by addmg

more water.

448 THU BOUSEKEEPSR^S MANUAL.

Beef and Potato Stew.—Cut up four pounds of beef into strips three

inclies by two, ^nd put them into two quarts of water, with one onion

sliced very fine. Let this siniTOer four hours. Add in half a cup of warm

water six even tea-spoonfuls of salt, three of sugar, three of vinegar,

a tea-spoonful of black pepper^ and six heaping tea-spoonfuls of flour,

' lumps rubbed out. Pour these upon the meat ; cut up, slice, and add six

potatoes, and let all stew till the meat is very tender, and the potatoes are

soft. If potatoes are omitted, leave out half a tea-spoonful of salt and a

pinch of the pepper.

Be sure and skim very thoroughly when boiling commences, and do

not allow hard boiling, but only a gentle simmer.

French Mutton and Turnip Stew.—Cut up two pounds of mutton, with

a little of the fat, into two-inch squares. Rub two heaping table-spoon-

fuls of butter into two table-spoonfuls of flour, and stir it into the meat,

with water just enough to cover it. Add three even tea-spoonfuls of salt,

half a one of pepper, four of sugar, a sprig of parsley, and a small onion,

sliced very fine. Skim, as soon as it begins to boil, and then add thirty

pieces of turnips, each an inch square, that have been fried brown. Let

all stew till meat and turnips are tender ; throw out the parsley, and

serve with the turnips in the centre, and the meat around it.

A Simple Mutton Stew.—Cut four pounds of mutton into two-inch

squares, add four even tea-spoonfuls of salt, four of sugar, half a one of

pepper, and a, small onion, sliced fine. Stew three hours, and thtn

thicken with five tea-spoonfuls of flour, lumps rubbed out. Six toma-

toes, or some tomato catsup, improves this.

A Beef Stew, with Vegetable Flavors.—Cut up four pounds of beef

into two-inch squares, and add two quarts of water. Let it stew one hour.

Then add one sliced onion, two sliced turnips, two sliced carrots, four

sliced tomatoes, four heaping tea-spoonfuls of salt, one small tea-spoonful

of pepper, four tea-spoonfuls of sugar, and five cloves. Let it stew till

there is only about a tea-cupful of gravy, and thicken this with a little

flour.

The above may be cooked without cutting up the meat, and it is good

eaten cold. Pressing it under a weight improves it, and so does putting

it an oven for half an hour.

A Stew of Chicken, Duck, or Turkey, with Celery or Tomatoes.—Take a quart of lukewarm water, and add two heaping tea-spoonfuls of

Bait, two of sugar, and a salt-spoonful of pepper. Cut up a large head of

celery, or four large tomatoes. Cut the fowl into eight or more pieces,

and let all simmer together two hours, or till the meat is very tender.

Then add two table-spoonfuls of butter, worked into as much flour, and

let it simmer fifteen minutes.

STMWS AND SOUFS. 449

A FaTorite Irish Stew.—Cut two pounds of mutton into pieces twoinches square ; add a little of the chopped fat, three tea-spoonfuls of salt,

half a one of black pepper, two of sugar, two sliced onions, and a quart of

water. Let them simmer half an hour, and then add sis peeled potatoes,

cat in quarters, that have soaked in cold water an hour. Let the wholestew an hour longer, or rather till the meat is very tender. Skim it

at first and just before taking up.

Veal Stew.—Put a knuckle of veal into two quarts of boiling water,

with three tea-spoonfuls of salt and half a tea-spoonful of ground pep-

per. Then chop fine and tie in a muslin rag one carrot, two small

onions, a small bunch of summer-savory, and another of parsley;put

them in the water, and let them stew three or four hours, till the meat

is very tender. There should only be about half a pint of gravy at

the bottom. Pour in hailing water, if needed. Strain the gravy, and

thicken with four spoonfuls of flour or potato-starch, and let it boil up

a minute only. This is improved by adding at first half a pound of salt

pork or ham, cut in strips. When this is done, no salt is to be used, or

only one tea-spoonful. Tomatoes improve it.

Another.—Cut four pounds of veal into strips one inch thick and three

inches long, and peel and soak eight potatoes cut into slices half an inch

thick. Then put a layer of veal at the bottom, and alternate layers of po-

tatoes and veal, with a layer of salt pork on the top, Put four tea-spoon-

fuls of salt, half a one of pepper, four of sugar, and six tea-spoonfuls of

flour, with lumps rubbed out, into two quarts of water. Pour all upon the

veal and potatoes, and let them stew till the veal is very tender. Celery

or tomatoes will improve this.

A Favorite Turliish Stew, (called Pilaff.)—Take some rich broth,

seasoned to the taste with pepper, salt, and tomato catsup. Add two tea-

cups of rice, and let it simmer till the rice absorbs as much as it will take

up without losing its form—say about fifteen minutes. Cut up a chicken,

and season it with salt and pepper, and fry it in sweet butter or cream.

Then put the chicken in the centre of the rice, and cover it entirely with

rice. Then pour on half a pound of melted butter, and let it stand where

it is hot, and yet will not fry, for fifteen minutes. To be served hot.

A Rice or Hominy Stew.—Take four pounds of any kind of fresh meat,

cut into pieces two inches square, and put in the stew-pan with one pint

of hominy. Then put into two quarts of warm water five heaping tea^

spoonfuls of salt, four of susjar, half a one of pepper, and three of vinegar.

Let them simmer four or five hours, till the meat is very tender. A tea-

cup of rice may be used instead of hominy. A little salt pork improves

this, as well as all other stews.


A Fayorite Enarlish Beef Stew.—Simmer a sliank or hock of beef, in

four quarts of water, with four heaping table-spoonfuls of salt, until the

beef is soft and the water reduced to about two quarts. Then add peeled

and soaked potatoes cut into thick slices, two tea-spoonfuls of pepper, two

of sweet marjoram, and two of either thyme or summer savory. Stew

till the potatoes are soft, add bread-crumbs and more salt if needful. Oneor two onions cut iine, and put in at first, improve it for most persons.

French Stew, or Pot au Feu.—Put three pounds of fresh meat into

three quarts of cold water, with two tea-spoonfuls of salt. When it be-

gins to simmer, add a gill of cold water, and skim thoroughly. Then add

a quarter of a pound of liver, a medium-sized carrot sliced, two small

turnips, two middle-sized leeks, half a head of celery, one sprig of pars-

ley, a bay leaf, one onion with two cloves stuck in it, and two cloves of

garlic. Simmer five hours.' Strain the broth into a soup-dish, and serve

the meat and vegetables on a platter. If more water is needed, add

that which is boiling.

When the dish is served all together, it is called Pot au Feu, and the

vessel in which it is cooked has the same name. It is the-common dish

of the French peasantry.

The following is the recipe for the favorite Spanish dish.

A superior housekeeper tried it, and it was so much liked that

several lof her family were hai-med by eating too much :

Spanish Olla Podrida.—Fry four ounces of salt pork in the pot, and,

when partly done, add two pounds of fresh beef and a quarter of a poundof ham. Add two tea-spoonfuls of salt in cold water, and only enoughjust to cover the meat. Skim carefully the first half-hour, and then adda gill of peas, (if dried, soak them an hour first,) half a head of cabbage,one carrot, one turnip, two leeks, three stalks of celery, three stalks ofparsley, two stalks of thyme, two cloves, two onions sliced, two cloves of

garlic, ten pepper corns, and a pinch of powdered mace or nutmeg.Simmer steadily for five hours. When the water is too low, add that

which is boiling. Put the meat on a platter, and the vegetables aroundit. Strain the liquor on to toasted bread iu a soup-dish.

All these articles can be obtained at grocers or markets in our largecities, and of course can be procured iu the country.

French Mutton Stew.—Take a leg of mutton and remove the largebone, leaving the bone at the small end as a handle ; cut off also the bonebelow the knuckle, and fix it with skewers.

Put it in a stew-pan with a phich of allspice,, four onions, two cloves,

two carrots, each cut in four pieces, a small bunch of parsley, two bay-

leaves, three sprigs of thyme, and scdt and peeper to the taste. Add two

STEWS AND SOtrPS. 45]

ounces of bacon cut in slices, a quarter of a pint of brotli, and cold waterenough to cover it. After one hour of simmering, add a wine-glass ofFrench brandy.

Let them simmer five hours longer, and then dish it ; strain the sauceon it, and serve.

The American housekeeper by experiments can modify theseforeign recipes to meet the taste of her family, and will find

them economical modes of cooking, as well as healthful to mostpersons.

FRENCH MODES OF COOKING SOTTPS AND STEWS.

The writer has examined the recipes of Gouffee, the chief

French cook of the Queen of England, set forth in the expen-

sive Royal Cook-Book ; also those of Soyer and Professor Blot.

She and her friends also have tested many of their recipes.

The following are most of the flavors used hy them in cook-

ing soups, stews, hashes, etc. Combination of these is recom-

mended by those authors in these proportions

:

One fourth of an ounce of thyme.

One fourth of an ounce of bay leaf.

One eighth of an ounce of marjoram.

One eighth of an ounce of rosemary.

Dry the above when fresh, mix in a mortar, and keep them corked

tight in a glass bottle.

Also the following in these proportions :

Half an ounce of nutmeg.

Half an ounce of cloves.

One fourth of an ounce of black pepper.

One eighth of an ounce of Cayenne pepper.

Pound, mix, and keep corked tight in glass. In using these with salt,

put one ounce of the last recipe to four ounces of salt. In making force-

meat and hashes, use at the rate of one ounce of this spiced salt to three

pounds of meat.

Soup Powder.—Two ounces of parsley

Two ounces of winter savory.

Two ounces of sweet marjoram.

Two ounces of lemon-thyme.

One ounce of lemon-peel.


One ounce of sweet basil.

Dry, pound, sift, and keep in a tight-corked bottle.

Let the housekeeper add these flavors so that they will not

he strong, but quite delicate, and then make aruleforthe cooJc.

The peculiar excellence of French cooking is the combina-

tion of flavors, so that no one is predominant, and all are deli-

cate in force and quantity.

SOUPS.

General Directions,

Most of the preceding stews will serve also fairly as soups,

by adding more water. Rub salt into meat for soups, but not

for stews, as the salt extracts the juices; and in stews the meat

is to be eaten, while in soups piioperly so called it is only the

liquor that is served. Put meat into cold water for soups, as

slowly heating also extracts the juices. For this same reason,

meat that is boiled for eating should be put into boiling water

to keep the juices in it.

Always skim often, as soon as the water begins to simmer;

and do not add the salt and other seasoning till the scum ceases

to rise.

Do not boil after the juices are extracted, as too much boil-

ing injures the flavor.

Never cool soup in metal, as there may be poison in the

soldering or other parts.

If you flavor soup by vegetables, do not boil them in the

soup, but in very little water, which is to be added to the soup

with them, as it contains much of their flavor.

When onion is used for flavor, slice and fry it, and dredge

on a little flour ; add the water in which the vegetables for

soup were boiled, or some meat broth, and then pour it into

the soup. If you flavor with wine, soy, or catsup, put them

into the tureen, and pour the soup upon them, as the flavor is

lessened by putting them into the soup-kettle. Bread-crumbs,

toast, or crackers also must be put in the tureen. Keep soup

covered tight while boiling, to keep in flavors. If water is

added, it must be boiling. The rule to guide in using salt and

pepper is a heaping tea-spoonful of salt to a quart of water,

454 TSE HOUSEKEBPES^8 MANUAL.

and one sixth as much pepper. But as tastes are different,

and the salt and pepper vary in strength, the housekeeper

can, on trial, change the recipe with a pencil.

Soup stock is broth of any kind of meat prepared in large

quantity, to keep on hand for gravies and soups. Beef

and veal make the best stock. One hind shin of befef makes

five quarts of stock, and one Uind shin of veal makes three

quarts. Wash and put into twice as much water as you wish

to, to have soup, and simmer five or six hours.

All kinds of bones should be mashed and boiled five or six

hours, to take out all the nutriment, the liquor then strained,

and kept in earthenware or stone, not in tin. Take off the fat

when cool.

Cool broth quickly, and it keeps longer.

Use a flat-bottom kettle, as less likely to scorch.

Soft water is best for soups ; a little soda improves hard

water.

Stock will keep three or four days in cool weather ; not so

long in warm. Keep it in a cool place. When used, heat to

boiling point, and then take up and flavor.

Put in the salt and pepper when the meat is thoroughly done.

Meat soups are best the second day, if warmed slowly and

taken up as soon as heated. If heated-too long, they become

insipid.

Thin soups must be strained. If to be made very clear, stir

in one or two well-beaten eggs, with the shells, and let it boU

half an hour.

Use the meat of the soup for a hash, warmed together with

a little fat, and well seasoned.

Be very careful, in using bones and cold meats for soups

that none is tainted, for the soup may be ruined by a sin-

gle bit of tainted meat or bone.

Potato Sonp.—Take six large mealy potatoes, sliced and soaked an

hour. Add one onion, sliced and tied in a rag, a quart of milk, and a,

quarter of a pound of salt pork cut in slices. Boil three quarters of an

hour, and then add a table-spoonful of melted butter and a well-beaten

egg, mixed in a cup of milk. This is a favorite soup with many, andeasily made. Some omit the pork, and use salt and pepper to flavor it,

and add one well-beaten egg.

SOUPS. 455

Green Corn Sonp.—This is very nice made witli sweet corn put into

seasoned soup stock.

Plain Beef Sonp.—Put three pounds of beef and one chopped onion, '

tied in a rag, to three quarts of cold water. Simmer till the meat is very

soft—say four hours ; then add three teai-spoonfuls of salt, as much sugar,

and half a tea-spoonful of pepper. Any other flavors may be added to suit

the taste. Strain the soup, and save the meat for mince-meat or hash.

Half a dozen sliced tomatoes will much improve this. Some wouldthicken with three or four tea-spoonfuls of potato-starch or flour.

Bicll Beef Sonp.—The following is a specimen of soups that are most

stylish, rich, and demand most care in preparation

:

Simmer six pounds of beef for six hours in six quarts of water, using

the bones, broken in small pieces. Cool it, and take off the fat. Next

day, an hour before dinner, take out the meat to use for l»ash or mince-

meat, heat the liquor, throw in some salt to raise the scum, and skim it

well. Then slice small, and boil in very little water, these vegetables

:

two turnips, two carrots, one head of celery, one quart of tomatoes, half

a head of small white cabbage, one pint of green corn or Shaker corn,

soaked over night. Cook the cabbage in two waters, throwing away the

first. Boil the soup' half an hour after these are put in. Season with

salt, pepper, mace, and wine to suit the taste.

Green Pea Soup.—Boil the pods an hour in a gallon of water. Strain

the liquor, and put into it four pounds of beef or mutton, and simmer

one hour. Then add half the peas contained in half a peck of pods, and

boil half an hom: ; then thicken with two great spoonfuls of flour, and sea-

son with salt and pepper. Three tomatoes, sliced, improve this.

Dried Bean Sonp or Pea Soup.—Soak the beans, if dry, over night,

and then boil till soft. Then strain them through a colander ; and to

each quart of liquor add a tea-spoonful of sugar, a tea-spoonful of salt, and

a salt-spoonful of pepper. Add a beaten egg, a tea-cup of milk, and two

spoonfuls of butter. A sliced onion improves it for some, and not for

others ; also, half the juice of a lemon when taken up. Canned sweet-

corn, or common corn with sugar added, makes good succotash for winter.

Clam Soup.—Wash and boil the clams till they come out of their shells

easily ; then choj them, and put them back into the liquor, which should

first be strained. Add a tea-cup of milk for each quart of soup;thicken

with a little flour, into which has been worked as much butter as it will

hold, and season with salt and pepper to suit the taste.

A Vegetable and Meat Soup for Sninmer.-Take three quarts of

stock that is duly seasoned with sugar, salt, and pepper. Add two small

456 TJIE HOUSBKBEPBR'S MANUAL.

onions, chopped fine, three small carrots, three small turnips, one stalk of

celery, and a pint of green peas—all chopped fine. Let it simmer two

hours, and then serve it.

Dried Pea Soup, with Salt Pork.—Soak a quart of split peas over

night in soft water. Next morning wash them and put them in four quarts

of water, with a tea-spoonful of sugar, two carrots, two small onions, andone stalk of celery—all cut in small pieces. Let them boil three hours.

Boil a pound of salt pork in another pot for one hour ; take off the skin,

and put the pork in the soup, and then boil one hour longer.

Dried Bean or Pea Soup, with Meat Stock.—Soak a pint of beans

or split peas over night in soft water. Then boil them in three quarts of

Boup-stock, duly seasoned with salt and pepper, with one small onion, one

turnip, one stalk of celery, and six cloves—all cut in small pieces. Let it

boil four or five hours. Strain through a colander.

Mutton Soup.—Boil four pounds of mutton in four quarts of water,

with four heaping tea^spoonfuls of salt, one even tea-spoonful of pepper,

two tea-spoonfuls of sugar, one small onion, two carrots, and two turnips

—all cut fine—and one tea-cup of rice or broken macaroni. Boil the meatalone two hours ; then add the rest, and boil one hour and a half longer.

French Vegetable Soup.—Take a leg of lamb, of moderate size, andfour quarts of water. Of potatoes, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, and turnips

, take a tea-cupful of each, chopped fine. Salt and black pepper at the

rate of one heaping tea-spoonful of salt to each quart of water, and one

sixth as much black pepper.

Wash the lamb, and put it into the four quarts of cold water. Whenthe scum rises, take it off carefully with a skimmer. After having pared

and chopped the vegetables, put them into the soup. Carrots require themost boiling, and should be put in first. This soup requires about three

hours to boil.

Plain CalPs Head Soup.—Boil the head and feet in just water enoughto cover them ; when tender, take out the bones, cut in small pieces, andseason with marjoram, thyme, cloves, salt, and pepper.

Put all into a pot, with the liquor, and four spoonfuls of butter ; stewgently an hour ; then, just as you take it up, add two or three glasses of

port wine, and the yelks of three eggs boiled hard.

An Excellent Simple Mutton Soup.—Put a piece of the fore-quarter

of mutton into salted water, enough to more than cover it, and simmer it

slowly two hours. Then peel a dozen turnips, and six tomatoes, andquarter tliem, and boil them with the mutton till just tender enough to

eat. Thicken the soup with pearl barley. Some use, instead of tomatoes,

tlie juice and rind of a lemon. Use half a tea-cup of rice, if you have nopearl barley.

V.

HASHES.

These are the common ways of spoiling hashes : 1. By fry-

ing, instead of merely heating them. Melted butter and oils

are good and healthful when only heated, but are unhealthful

when fried. 2. Dredging in flour, which, not being well

cooked, imparts a raw taste of dough. 3. Using too muchwater, making them vapid ; or too much fat or gravy, makingthem gross. 4. Using too much or too little salt and other

seasoning. The following recipes will save from these mis-

takes, if exactly followed. When water is recommended in

these recipes, cold gravy will be better, in which case, the but-

ter may be omitted

:

A Seasoned Hash of any Fresh Meats.—Chop, but not very fine, anykinds bf fresli meat, but be sure not to put in any that is tainted. To a

common tumblerful of chopped meat put three table-spoonfuls of water,

a tea-spoonful of sugar, a heaping tea-spoonful of salt, a salt-spoonful of

pepper, and butter the size of half an egg. Warm, but do not fry : and

when hot, break in three eggs, and stir till they are hardened a little

;

then serve. Bread-crumbs may be added. This may be put on buttered

toast or served alone. This and all the following hashes may be varied

in flavor, by adding, in delicate proportions, the mixed flavors on another

page.

A Hash of Cold Fresh Meats and Potatoes.—Take two tumblerfuls

of meat of any kind, chopped. Add as much cold potatoes, also chopped,

two table-spoonfuls of sweet butter in six table-spoonfuls of hot water,

and two tea-spoonfuls of salt. Sprinkle half a tea spoonful of pepper over

the meat, and also a spoonful of sugar ; mix all, and warm about twenty

minutes, but not so as to boil or fry. Tomatoes improve this.

Meat Hash with Egg's, (very nice.)—To a tumblerful of fresh cold

meat cut in pieces about the size of peas, put three table-spoonfuls of hot

water, two spoonfuls of butter, a tea-spoonful of sugar, two tea-spoonfuls

of salt, and a salt-spoonful of pepper. Mix all, warm but not fry • and

458 THM HOUSJEKEEPEB^S MANUAL.

when hot, break in four eggs, and stir till they are hardened. Spread on

buttered toast or serve alone. When eggs are used, the Ineat should not

be chopped fine.

A Meat Hash Tvith Tomatoes.—Cut up a pint of tomatoes into a sauce-

pan, and when boiling hot, add the cold meat in thin slices, with a table-

spoonful of sugar, and salt and pepper, at the rate of a tea-spoonful of salt

and half a tea-spoonful of pepper to each tumblerful of meat.

A Nice Beef Hash.—Make a gravy of melted butter, or take cold

gravy ; season with salt, pepper, and currant jelly or vinegar. Cut cold

roast beef or the remnants of cold stake into mouthfuls, and put into

the gravy till heated, but not to fry.

Or, season this gravy with the crushed juice of fresh tomatoes or toma-

to catsup.

A Simple and Excellent Veal Hash.—Chop cold veal very fine ; but-

ter a pudding-dish, and make alternate layers of veal and powdered

crackers till the dish is full, the first layer of meat being at the bottom.

Then beat up two eggs, and add a pint or less of milk, seasoned well with

salt and pepper, and two or three spoonfuls of melted butter. Pour this

over the meat and crackers ; cover with a plate, and bake about half an

hour. Remove the plate awhile, and let the top brown a little. This is

the best way to cook veal, and children are very fond of it.

Rice and Cold Meats.—Chop remnants of fresh meats with salt porkor cold ham. Season with salt and pepper and a little sugar ; add twoeggs and a little butter. Then make alternate layers with this and slices

of cold boiled rice, and bake it half an hour.

Uread-Crambs and Cold Meats.—Take any remnants of cooked fresh

meats, and chop them fine with bits of ham or salt pork. Season withsalt and pepper

; add three eggs and a little milk, and then thicken with^

pounded bread-crumbs. Bake it as a pudding, or warm it for a hash, or

cook it in flat cakes on a griddle.

A Meat Hash with Bread-Crnmbs.—One tea-spoonful of flour, (or po-

tato or corn-starch,) wet in four tea-spoonfuls of cold water. Stir it into

a tea-cupful of boiling water, and put in a salt-spoonful of pepper, twotearspoonfuls of salt, a tea-spoonful of sugar, and two table-spoonfuls of

sweet butter. Use cold gravy instead of butter, if you have it. Set this

in a stew-pan where it will be kept hot, but not fry. Chop the meat veryfine, and mix with it while chopping half as much dried bread-crumbs.Put this into the gravy, and let it heat only ten minutes, and then serve

it on buttered toast. Tomatoes, ê or two, improve this.

A Hash of Cold Beefsteak alone or with Potatoes and Turnips.—Make a paste with a heaping tea-spoonful of flour in two tea-spoonfuls of

BASHES. 459

water. Stir it into a tea-cup and a lialf of boiling water, witli a salt-

spoonful of black pepper, a half tea-spoonful of sugar,, and two tea-spoon-

fuls of salt. Let it stand where it will be hot but not boil. Cut the beef

Into mouthfuls, and also as much cold boiled potatoes and half as muchboiled turnips. Mix all, and then add two table-spoonfuls of butter, (or

some cold gravy,) and a table-spoonful of tomato catsup, or two sliced

tomatoes. Warm, but do not fry, for ten minutes.

• When beef gravy is used, take less salt and pepper.

This is a good recipe for cold beef without vegetables.

A Hash of Cold Mutton (or Venison) and Vegetables,—Prepare as in

the preceding recipe, but add one onion sliced fine, to hide the strong

mutton taste. If onion is left out, put in a wine-glass of grape or currant

jelly. If the vegetables ara left out, put in a little less pepper and salt.

A Hash of Coi'ned Beef.—Chop the meat very fine, fat and lean toge-

ther; add twice as muclicold potatoes chopped fine. For each tumblei^

ful of this add butter half the size of a hen's egg melted in half a tea-cup

of hot water, at salt-spoonful of pepper and another of salt. Heat very hot,

but do not let it fry. Some would add parsley or other sweet herb.

A Hash of Cold Ham.—Cliop, not vei'y fine, fat and lean together.

Add twice the quantity of bread-crumbs chopped but not fine. Heat it

hot, then break in two eggs for every tumblerful of the hash. A tea-

spoonful of sugar improves it, and a salt-spoonful of pepper.

Meats warmed over.—Veal is best made into hashes. If it is liked

more simply cooked, chop it fine, put in water just enough to moisten it,

butter, salt, pepper, and a little juice of a lemon. Some like a little

lemon-rind grated in. Heat it through, but do not let it fry. Put it on

buttered toa'st, and garnish it with slices of lemon.

Cold salted or freah beef is good chopped fine with pepper, salt, and

catsup, and water enough to moisten a little. Add some butter just be-

fore taking it up, and do not let it fry, only heat it hot. It inj ures cooked

meat to cook it again. Cold fowls make a nice dish to have them cut up

in mouthfuls ; add some of the gravy and giblet sauce, a little butter and

pepper, and then heat them through.

A nice Way of Cooking Cold Meats.—Chop the meat fine, add salt,

pepper, a little onion, or else tomato catsup ; fill a tin bread-pan one third

full, cover it over with boiled potatoes salted and mashed with cream or

milk, lay bits of butter on the top and set it into a Dutch or stove oven

for fifteen or twenty minutes.

A Hash of Cold Meat for Dinner, (very good.)-Peel six large toma-

toes and one onion, and slice them. Add a spoonful of sugar, salt and

pepper, and a bit of butter the size of a hen's egg, and half a pint of cold

460 THE HOUSEKEEPBB-'S MANUAL.

water. Shave up tlie meat into small bits, as tliin as thick pasteboard.

Dredge flour over it, say two tea-spoonfuls, or a little less. Simmer the

meat with all the rest for half an hour, and then serve it, and it is very

fine.

Dried tomatoes can be used. When you have no tomatoes, make a

gravy with water, pepper, salt, and butter, or cold gravy ; slice an onion

in it, add tomato catsup, (two or three spoonfuls,) and then prepare the

meat as above, and simmer it in this gravy haif an hour. '

Souse.—Cleanse pigs' ears and feet and soak them a week in salt and

water, changing the water every other day. Boil eight or ten hours till

tender. When cold, put on salt, and pour on hot spiced vinegar. Warmthem in lard or butter.

Tripe.—Scrape and scour it thoroughly, soak it in salt and water a

week, changing it every other day. Boil it eight or ten hours, till ten-

der ; then pour on spiced hot vinegar and broil it.

I

VI.

BOILED MHATS.

An Excellent Way to cook Tougli Beef.—To eight pounds of beef

put four quarts of water, two table-spoonfuls of salt, halfa tea-spoonful of

pepper, three tea-spoonfuls of vinegar, and four tea-spoonfuls of sugar.

Put it on at eight in the morning, and let it simmer slowly till the water is

more than half gone ; then skim off the grease, and set it in the stove-

oven till the water is all gone but about a tea-oupful, which is for gravy,

and may be thickened a little. Add boiling water, if it goes too fast, (for

in some kinds of weather it will evaporate much faster than in other

days.) This dish should be very tender, and is excellent cold, especially

if it is pressed under a heavy weight. This was a favorite soldier's dish

;

and tough meat is as good as it is tender, when thus cooked.

Boiled Ham.—The best way to cook a ham is iirst to wash it ; then

take off the skin and bake it in a pan, with a little water in it, in a stove or

brick oven, till tender, which is found by a fork piercing easily. Allow

twenty minutes for each pound.

To boil a ham, soak it over night ; then wash in two waters, using a

brush. Boil slowly, and allow fifteen minutes for each pound. Whencold, take off the skin, and ornament with dots of pepper and fringed

paper tied around the shank.

A nice way to treat a cold boiled ham is, after removing the skin, to

rub it over with beaten egg, and then spread over powdered cracker, wet

with milk, and let it brown in the oven. Boiled ham is much improved

by setting it in the oven half an hour, making it sweeter, while the fat

that tries out is useful for cooking.

Boiled Beef.—Put it in salted water, (a tea-spoonful for each quart ;)

have enough to cover it. Skim well just before it begins to boil, and as

long as the scum rises. Allow about fifteen minutes to each pound, or

more for beef. Drain well, and serve with vegetables boiled separately.

Boiled Fowls.—Wash the inside carefully with soda water, to remove

any taint. Stuff with seasoned bread-crumbs, or cracker, wet up with

eggs, and sew up the openings. Put them in hoiUng water, enough to

cover, and let them simmer gently till tender. It is a good plan to wrap

in a cloth dredged with flour.

•;o2 TSE housekeeper's manual.

Fricasseed Fowls.—Cut them up, and put in a, pot, with cold water

enough to cover. Put some salt pork over, and let them simmer slowly

till very tender and the water mostly gone. When done, stir in a cup of

milk, mixed with two well-beaten eggs, first mixing slowly some of the

hot liquor with the milk and eggs.

Some fry the pork first, thus increasing the flavor, and others leave it

out.

To Boil a Leg or Shoulder of Veal, or Mntton, or Lamb.—Muttonshould be cooked more rare than any other meat. Make a stuffing of

chopped bread, seasoned with pepper and salt, and mixed with one or twoeggs. Make deep gashes in the meat, (or, better, take out the bone ;) fill

the openings with stuffing, and sew them up. Wrap it tight in a cloth,

and put it so as to be covered with water, salted at the rate of a tearspoon-

ful to each quart. Let it simmer slowly about two or three hours. Skimthoroughly just before it comes to boiling heat. If needful, add boiling

water. Save the water for broth for next day. If you pour cold wateron the cloth before removing it, and let it stand two minutes, it improvesthe looks.

CalPs Feet.—Wash and scrape till very clean. Boil three hours in

four quarts of water salted with four even tea^spoonfuls of salt. Takeout the bones, and put the rest into a sauce-pan, with three table-spoon-

fuls ofbutter, two table-spoonfuls of vinegar, a great-spoonful of sugar,

and a salt-spoonful of pepper. Add three tea-cups of the liquor in

which the feet were boiled ; dredge in some flour, and simmer for fifteen

minutes. Garnish with sliced lemon. (Save the liquor to make calfs foot

jelly.)

Calf's Liver and Sweetbreads.—These are best split open, boiled, andthen dtesaed with pepper, salt, and butter.

To cook Kidneys.—Wash them clean, and split them. Heat themhalf an hour in a sauce-pan, without water. Then wash them again, andcover them with a pint of water, having in it a tea-spoonful of salt and asalt-spoonful of pepper. Boil one hour, and then take ofi' tlie skin. Cutthem in mouthfuls ; add two great-spoonfuls of butter, more salt and hotwater, if needed, and let them simmer fifteen minutes.

Pillau, a Favorite Dish in the South.—Fricassee a chicken withslices ofsalt pork, or with sweet butter or sweet cream. Put the chicken,when cooked, in a bake-dish, and cover it with boiled rice, seasoned withsalt, pepper, and one dozen allspice. Pile the rice, pour on some meltedbutter, smooth it, and cover with yelk of an egg. Bake half an hour.

To Boil Smoked Tongues.—Soak in cold water only two hours, aslong soaking lessens sweetness. Wash them, and boil four or five hours,

BOILED MEATS. 46a

according to the size. When ône, take off the skin and garnish withparsley. A table-spoonful of sugar for each tongue, put in the water, im-proves them.

To boil Corned Beef.—Do not soak it, but wash it, and put it in hotwater, to keep in the juices ; allow a pint for each pound. Skim just be-

fore it begins to boil. Let it simmer slowly, and allow twenty-five minutesfor every pound. Keep it covered with water, adding boiling hot water,if needed. It is much improved for eating cold by pressing it with aboard and heavy stone. It is an excellent piece of economy to save thewater to use for soup.

Some think it an improvement to put on a little sugar, and pour a little

vinegar on before boiling. Some like to boil turnips, potatoes, and cab-

bage with it. In that case, they must be peeled, and the potatoes soakedtwo hours.

To boil Partridges or Pigeons.—Cleanse and rinse the insides withsoda-water, and then with pure water. Wrap them in a damp floured

cloth;put them into boiling water which is salted at the rate of a heap-

ing tea-spoonful to a quart ; also, two tea-spoonfuls of sugar and a salt-

spoonful of pepper. Simmer them twenty minutes to half an hour.

When done, make a sauce of butter rubbed into flour and half a cup of

milk ; put the birds into a dish and pour on this sauce. Some would addcut parsley, or other flavors.

To boil Dncks.—Let them lie in hot watertwo hours. Then wrap in

a cloth dredged with flour; put them in cold water, salted at the rate of a

half a tea-spoonful for each pint. Add a tea-spoonful of sugar for each

pint. Let them simmer half an hour ; then take them up, and pour over

them a sauce made of melted butter rubbed into flour, and seasoned with

lemon-juice, salt, and pepper, and thinned with gravy or hot water.

Wild ducks must be soaked in salt and water the night previous, to re-

move the fishy taste, and then in the morning put in fresh water, which

should be changed once or twice.

To bofl a Turkey.—Make a stuflBng for the craw of chopped bread

and butter, cream, oysters, and the yelks of eggs. Sew it in, and dredge

flour over the turkey, and put it in hot water to boil, with a spoonful of

salt in it, and enough water to cover it well. Let it simmer for two hours

and a half, or, if small, less time. Skim it while boiling. It will look

nicer if wrapped in a cloth dredged with flour while cooking.

Serve it with drawn butter, in which are put some oysters.

vn.

EOAST AND BAKED MEATS.

The beef of an ox is best, and the next best is that of a heifer.

The best pieces for roasting are the second cut of the sh'loin,

the second cut of the ribs, and the back part of the rump.

The art of roasting well consists of turning the meat often,

to prevent burning, and basting often, to make it juicy.

Never dredge flour into gravies, as it makes lumps. Strain

all gravies.

Brown Flour for Meat Gravies.—This ia used to thicken meat gra-

vies, to give a good color. It is prepared hy putting flour on a tin plate

in a hot oven, stirring it often until well browned ; it must be kept, cork-

ed, in a jar, and sliaken occasionally.

Roast Beef.—A piece of beef weighing ten pounds requires about two

hours to roast in a tin oven before a fire. Allow ten minutes for each

pound over or under this weight. Have the spit and oven clean and

bright. They should have been washed before they grew cold from the

last roasting.

Put the meat on the spit so that it will be evenly balanced ; set the

bony side toward the fire ; let it roast slowly at first, turning it often ;

and when all sides are partly cooked, move it nearer the fire. If allowed

ito scorch at first, it will not cook in the middle without burning the out-

side.

Baste often with the drippings and with salted water, (about half a

pint of water with half a tea-spoonful of salt,) which has been put in the

oven bottom. Just before taking up, dredge on some flour, mixed with

n little salt ; then baste and set it near the fire, turning iteo as to brown

it all over alike. Half an hour before it is done, pour off the gravy, sea-

son it with salt and pepper, and thicken with corn or potato-starch, or

flour.

To roast in a Cook Stove.—^Put the meat in an iron pan, with three

or four gills of water, and a tea-spoonful of salt. Turn it occasionally,

that it may cook evenly, and baste often. When done, dredge on somesalted flour, baste again, and set it back till browned.

BOAST AND BAKED MEATS. 465

Roast Pork.—Cover a spare-rib with greased paper, till half done

;

then dredge with flour, and baste with the gravy. Just before taking it

up, cover the surface with cracker or bread-crumbs, wet up with pepper,

salt, and powdered sage ; let it cook ten minutes longer, and then baste

again. Skim the gravy, thicken it with brown flour, season with a little

powdered sage and lemon-juiee, or vinegar ; strain it, and pour over the

meat. Pork must be cooked slowly and very thoroughly, and served

with apple sauce. Tomato catsup improves the gravy.

Roost Mutton.—The leg of mutton may be boiled. The shoulder andloin should always be roasted.

Put the meat in the oven or roaster, and then pour boiling hot water

over it, to keep in the juices. Baste often with salt and water at first and

then with the gravy. With n, hot fire, allow ten minutes for each

pound. If there is danger of burning, cover the outside with oiled white

paper. Skim the gravy ; strain it and thicken with brown flour. Serve

with acid jelly. Lamb requires less time in roasting ; but mutton should

be rare. Make a brown gravy, and serve with currant jelly.

Roast Veal.—Follow the above directions for roasting mutton, except

to allow more time, as veal should be cooked more than mutton. Allow

twenty minutes to each pound, and baste often. Too much roasting

and little basting spoil veal. To be served with apple-sauce. It muchimproves roast veal to cut slits in it, and insert bits of salt pork.

Roast Poultry.—No fowl should be bought when the entrails are not

drawn ; and the insides should always be washed with soda-water

—

a tea-

spoonful of soda to a pint of water. Rinse out with fair water. Stuff with

seasoned bread-crumbs, wet up with eggs. Sew and tie the stuffing in

thoroughly. Allow about ten minutes' cooking for each pound, more or

less, according to the fire and size of the fowl.

Put a grate in the bake-pan, with a tea-cup of salted water. Dredge

the fowl with flour at first, and baste often. Strain the gravy, and add

the giblets, chopped fine. Many dislike the liver, and so leave it out.

If fowls are bought with the intestines in, or if they have been kept too

long, the use of soda-water, and then rinsing with pure water, will

often prevent the tainted taste ; so it is well to do this, except when it

is certain that the fowl is just killed. Put a tea-spoonful of soda to a pint

of water.

Pot-Pie, of Beef, Veal, or Chicken.—The best way to make the

crust is as follows : Peel, boil, and mash a dozen potatoes ; add a tea-

spoonful of salt, two table-spoonfuls of butter, and half a cup of milk, or

cream. Then stiflFen it with flour, till you can roll it. Be sure to get all

the lumps out of the potatoes. Some persons leave out the butter.

Some roll butter into the dough of bread ; others make a raised biscuit.

466 TBE BOUSEKEEPER'S MANITAL.

with but little shortening ; others make a plain soda pie-crust. But none

are sogood and healthful as the potato-crust ; so choose what is best for

all.

To prepare the meat, first fry half a dozen slices of salt pork, and then

cut up the meat and pork, and boil them in just water enough to cover

them, till the meat is nearly cooked. Then peel a dozen potatoes, and

slice them thin. Boll the crust half an inch thick, and cut it into oblong

pieces. Then put alternate layers of crust, potatoes, and meat, till all is

used. The top and bottom layer must be crust. Divide the pork so as to

have some in each layer.

Lastly, pour on the- liquor in which the meat was boiled, until it just

covers the whole, and let it simmer till the top crust is well cooked—say

half or three quarters of an hour. Season the liquor with salt, at the rate

of a tearspoonful for each quart, and one sixth as much pepper. If you

have occasion to add more liquor, or water, it must be bmling liot, or the

crust will be spoilt.

The excellence of this pie depends on having light crust, and therefore

the meat must first be nearly cooked before putting it in the pie ; andthecrust must be in only just long enough to cook, or it will be clammy and

bard.

SIntton and Beef-Pie.—Line a dish with a crust made of potatoes, as

directed in the Chicken Pot-Pie. Broil the meat ten minutes, after pound-

ing it till the fibres are broken. Cut the meat thin, and put it in layers,

with thin slices of broiled salt pork ; season with butter, the size of a hen's

egg, salt, pepper, (and either wine or catsup, if liked ;) put in water till

it nearly covers the meat, and dredge in considerable flour ; cover it with

the paste, and bake it an hour and a half, if quite thick. Cold meats

are good cooked over in this way. Cut a slit in the centre of the cover.

Chicken-Pie.—Joint and boil two chickens in salted water, just enough

to cover them, and simmer slowly for half an hour. Line a dish with po-

tato crust, as directed in the recipe for pot-pie ; then, when cold, put the'

chicken in layers, with thin slices of broiled pork, butter, the size of a

goose egg, cut in small pieces. Put in enough of liquor, in which the

meat was boiled, to reach the surface ; salt and pepper each layer ; dredge

in a little flour, and cover all with a. light, thick crust. Ornament the

top with the crust, and bake about one hour in a hot oven. Make a small

slit in the centre of the crust. If it begins to scorch, lay a paper over a

short time.

Rice Chicken-Pie.—Line a pudding-dish with slices of broiled ham j

cut up a boiled chicken, and nearly fill the dish, filling in with gravy or

melted butter ; add minced onions, if you like, or a little curry powder.

Then pile boiled rice to fill all interstices, and cover the top quite thick.

Bake it for half or three quarters of an hour.

BOAST AND BAKED MEATS. 467

Potato-Pie.—Take mashed potatoes, seasoned with salt, butter, andmilk, and line a baking-dish. Lay upon it slices of cold meats of anykind, with salt, pepper, catsup, and butter or gravy. Put on another

layer of potatoes, and then another of cold meat, as before. Lastly, on

the top put a cover of potatoes.

Bake it till it is thoroughly warmed through, and serve it in the dish

in which it is baked, setting it in or upon another.

CalPs Head.—Take out the brains and boil the head, feet, and lights

in salted water, just enough to cover them, about two hours. When they

have boiled nearly an hour and a half, tie the brains in a cloth and put

them in to boil with the rest. They should be skinned, and soaked half

an hour in cold water. When the two hours have expired, take up the

whole, mash the brains fine, and season them with bread-crumbs, pep-

per, salt, and a glass of port or claret, and use them for sauce. Let the

liquor remain for a soup the next day. It serves more handsomely to re,

move all the bones. Serve with a gravy of drawn butter.

vm.

BROILED AND FRIED MEATS AND RELISHES.

Broiled Mutton or Lamb Chops.—Cut off and the skinny part, which

only turns black and can not be eaten. Put a little pepper and salt on

each one, and broil by a quick fire. Mutton chops should be rare.

Broiled Beefsteak.—Have the steak cut three quarters of an inch to

an inch in thickness. The sirloin and porter-house are the best. The

art ofcooking steak will depend on a good fire and turning often after it

begins to drip. When done, lay it on a hot platter, season with butter,

pepper, and salt ; cover with another hot platter, and send to the table.

Use beef-tongs, as pricking lets out the juices. Slow cooking and tomcA

cooking spoils a sieak.

Broiled Fresh Pork.—Cut in thin slices, broil quickly and very tho-

roughly ; then season with salt, pepper, and powdered sage.

Broiled Ham.—Cut in thin slices, and soak fifteen minutes in hot

water. Pour off this and soak again as long. Wipe dry and broil over a

quick fire, and then pepper it. Ham that is already cooked rare is best

for broiling.

Broiled Sweetbreads.—The best way to cook sweetbreads is to broil

them thus : Parboil them, and then put them on a clean gridiron for

broiling. When delicately browned, take them off and roll in melted

butter on a plate to prevent their bein^ dry and hard. Some cook themon a griddle well buttered, turning frequently; and some put narrow

strips of fat salt pork on them while cooking.

Broiled Teal.—Cut it thin, and put thin slices of salt pork on the top

after it is laid on the gridiron, and broil both together. When turning,

put the pork again on the top. When the veal is thoroughly cooked,

brown the pork a little by itself, while the veal stands on a hot dish.

A good Pork Relish.—Broil thin slices of fresh pork, first pouring on

boiling water to lessen salt n ess. Cut them in small mouthfuls, and add

butter, pepper, and salt.

FRIED MEATS AND RELISHES.

The most slovenly and unhealthful mode of cooking ia fry-

ing, as it usually is done. If the fat is very hot, and the

BROILED AND FRIED MEATS AND RELISHES. 469

articles are put in and taken out exactly at the right time, it is

well enough. But fried fat is hard to digest, and most fried

food is soaked with it, so that only a strong stomach can digest

it. Almost every thing that is fried might be better cooked

on a griddle slightly oiled. A griddle should always be oiled

only just enough to keep from sticking. It is best to fry in

lard not salted, and this is better than butter. Mutton and

beef suet are good for frying. When the lard seems hot, try

it by throwing in a bit of bread. When taking up fried arti-

cles, drain off the fat on a wire sieve.

A nice Way of Cookin? Calf's or Pig's Liver.—Cut in slices half aninch thick, pour on boiling water, and then pour it ofiF entirely ; then let

the liver brown in its own juices, turning it till it looks brown on both

sides. Take it up, and pour into the frying-pan enough cold water to

make as much gravy as you wish ; then sliver in amry little onion ; add a

little salt and nutmeg, and a bit of butter to season it ; let it boil up once,

then put back the liver for a minute longer.

Beef Liver.—Cut it in slices half an inch thick, pour boiling water

on it, broil it with thin slices of pork dipped in flour, cut it in mouth-

fuls, and heat it with butter, pepper, and salt for three or four minutes.

Egff Omelet.—Beat the yolks of six eggs, and add a cup of milk, half

a tea-spoonful of salt, and a pinch of pepper. Pour, into hot fat, and cook

till just stiffened. Turn it on to a platter brown side uppermost. Some

add minced cooked ham, or cold meat chopped and salted. Others put in

chopped cauliflower or asparagus cooked and cold.

Frizzled Beef.—Sliver smoked beef, pour on boiling water to freshen

it, then pour off the water, and frizzle the beef in butter.

Veal Cheese.—Prepare equal quantities of sliced boiled veal and

boiled smoked tongue, or ham sliced. Pound each separately in a mor-

tar, moistening with butter as you proceed. Then take a stone jar, or

tin can, and mix them in it, so that it will, when cut, look mottled and

variegated. Press it hard, and pour on melted butter. Keep it covered

in a dry place. To be used at tea in slices.

A Codfish Eelish.—Take thin slivers of codfish, lay them on hot coals,

and when done to a yellowish brown, set them on the table.

Another Way.— Sliver the codfish fine, pour on boiling water, drain it

off, and add butter and a very little pepper, and heat them three or four

minutes, but do not let them fry.

Salt Herrin"'S.—Heat them on a gridiron, remove the skin, and then

set them on the table.

IX

PICKLES.

Do not keep pickles in common earthenware, as the glazing

contains lead, and combines with the vinegar.

Vinegar for pickling should be sharp, but not the sharpest

kind, as it injures the pickles. Wine or cider vinegar is relia-

ble. Much manufactured vinegar is sold that ruins pickles ,

and is unhealthful. If you use copper, bell-metal, or brass ves-

isels for pickling, never allow the vinegar to cool in them, as it

then is poisonous. Add a table-spoonful of alum and a tea-

cup of salt to each three gallons of vinegar, and tie up a bag

with pepper, ginger-roOt, and spices of all sorts in it, and you

have vinegar prepared for any kind of common pickling, and

in many cases all that is needed is to throw the fruit in and

keep it in till wanted.

Keep pickles only in wood, or stone-ware.

Any thing that has held grease wiU spoil pickles.

Stir pickles occasionally, and if there are soft ones, take

them out, scald the vinegar, and pour it hot over the pickles.

Keep enough vinegar to cover them well. If it is weak, take

fresh vinegar, and pour on hot. Do not boil vinegar or spice

over five minutes.

Sweet Pickles, (a great favorite.)—One pound of sugar, one quart of

vinegar, two pounds of fruit. Boil fifteen minutes, skim well, put in the

fruit and let it boil till half cooked. For peaches, flavor with cinnamonand mace ; for plums and aU. dark fruit, use allspice and cloves.

To pickle Tomatoes.—As you gather them, leave an inch or more of

stem ; throw them into cold vinegar. When you have enough, take themout, and scald some spices, tied in a bag, in good vinegar ; add a little

sugar, and pour it hot over them.

To pickle Peaches.—Take ripe but hard peaches, wipe oflF the down.

PICKLES. 471

stick a few cloves into them, and lay tliem in cold spiced vinegar. Inthree mouths, they will be sufficiently pickled, and also retain much oftheir natural flavor.

To pickle Peppers.—Take green peppers, take the seeds out carefully

so as not to nuingle them, soak them nine days in salt and water, chang-ing it every day, and keep them in a warm place. Stuff them with chop-ped cabbage, seasoned with cloves, cinnamon, and mace

;put them in cold

spiced vinegar.

To pickle Nastnrtions.—Soak them three days in salt and water as

you collect them, changing it once in three days ; and When you haveenough, pour off the brine, and pour on scalding hot vinegar.

To pickle Onions.—Peel, and boil in milk and water ten minutes,

drain off the milk and water, and pour scalding spiced vinegar on to

them.

To pickle Gherkin<i.—Keep them in strong brine till they are yellow,

then take them out and turn on hot spiced vinegar, and keep them in it,

in a warm place, till they turn green. Then turn off the vinegar, andadd a fresh supply of hot, spiced vinegar.

To pickle Muslirooms.—Stew them in salted water, just enough to

keep them from sticking. When tender, pour off the water, and pour on

hot spiced vinegar. Then cork them tight, if you wish to keep themlong. Poison ones will turn black if an onion is stewed with them, and

then all must be thrown away.

To piclde Cacumbers.—Wash the cucumbers in cold water, being

careful not to bruise or break them. Make a brine of rock or blown salt

(rock is the best,) strong enough to bear up an egg or potato, and of

sufficient quantity to cover the cucumbers.

Put them into an oaken tub, or stone-ware jar, and pour the brine over

them. In twenty-four hours, tbey should be stirred up from the bottom

with the hand. The third day pour off the brme, scald it, and pour it

over the cucumbers. Let them stand in the brine nine days, scalding

it every third day, as described above. Then take the cucumbers into a

tub, rinse them in cold water, and if they are too salt, let them stand in it

a few hours. Drain them from the water, put them back into the tub or

jar, which must be washed clean from the brine. Scald vinegar sufficient

to cover them, and pour it upon them. Cover them tight, and in a week

they will be ready^for use. If spice is wanted, it may be tied in a linen

cloth and put into the jar with the pickles, or scalded with the vinegar,

and the bag thrown into the pickle-jar. If a white scum rises, take it

off and scald the vinegar, and pour it back. A small lump of alum added

to the vinegar improves the hardness of the cucumbers.


Pickled Walnuts.—Take a hundred nuts, an ounce of cloves, an ounceof allspice, an ounce of nutmeg, an ounce of whole pepper, an ounce of

race ginger, an ounce of horse-radish, half pint of mustard-seed, and four

cloves of garlic, tied in a bag.

Wipe the nuts, prick with a pin, and put them in a pot, sprinkling the

(spice as you lay them in ; then add two table-spoonfuls of salt ; boil

Bufficient vinegar to fill the pot, and pour it over the nuts and spice.

Cover thejar close, and keep it for a year, when the pickles will be ready

for use.

Butternuts may be made in the same manner, if they are taken when<rreen, and soft enough to be stuck through with the head of a pin. Puttliem for a week or two in weak brine, changing it occasionally. Before

putting in the brine, rub them about with a broom in brine, to cleanse

the skins. Then proceed as tor the walnuts.

The vinegar makes an excellent catsup.

Mangoes.—Take the latest growth of young muskmelons, cut out a

small piece from one side and empty them. Scrape the outside smooth,

and soak them four days in strong salt and water. If you wish to green

them, put vine leaves over and under, with bits of alum, and steam themawhile. Then powder cloves, pepper, and nutmeg in equal portions, and

sprinkle on the inside, and fill them with strips of horse-radish, small bits

of calamus, bits of cinnamon and mace, a clove or two, a'very small onion,

nasturtions, and then American mustard seed to fill the crevices. Put

back the piece cut out, and sew it on, and then sew the mango in cotton

cloth. Lay all in a stone jar, the cut side upward.

Boil sharp vinegar a few minutes with half a tea-cup of salt, and a

table-spoonful of alum to three gallons of vinegar, and turn it on to the

melons. Keep dried barberries for garnishes, and when you use them,

turn a little of the above vinegar of the mangoes heated boiling hot

on to them, and let them swell a few hours. Sliced and salted cabbage

with this vinegar poured on hot is very good.

Fine piclded Cabbage.—Shred red and white cabbage, spread it in

layers in a stone jar, with salt over each layer. Put two spoonfuls of

whole blac'k pepper, and the same quantity of allspice, cloves, and cinna-

mon, in a bag, and scald them in two quarts of vinegar, and pour the

vinegar over the cabbage, and cover it tight. Use it in two days after.

An excellent Way of preparing Tomatoes to eat with Meat.—Peel

and slice ripe tomatoes, sprinkling on » little salt as you proceed.

Drain off the j nice, and pour on hot spiced vinegar.

To pickle Martinoes.—Gather them when you can run a pin-head into

them, and after wiping them, keep them ten days in weak brine, chang-

ing it every other day. Then wipe them, and pour over boiling spiced

vinegar. In four weeks, they will be ready for use. It is a fine pickle.

PICKLES. 473

A convenient Way to pickle Cucumbers.—Put some spiced vinegarin a jar, witli a little salt in it. Every time you gather a mess, pourboiling vinegar on tliem, with a little alum in it. Then put them iu the

spiced vinegar. Keep the same vinegar for scalding all. When you haveenough, take all from the spiced vinegar, and scald in the alum vinegar

two or three minutes, till green, ar.d then put them back in the spiced

vinegar.

Indiana Pickles.—Take_green tomatoes, and slice them. Put them iu

a basket to drain in layers, with salt scattered over them, say a tea-cup-

ful to each gallon. Next day, slice one quarter the quantity of onions,

and lay the onions and tomatoes in alternate layers in a jar, with spice

intervening. , Then fill the jar with cold vinegar. Tomatoes picked as

tliey ripen, and just thrown into cold spiced vinegar, are a fine pickle,

and made with very little trouble.

To pickle Cauliflower, or Broccoli.—Keep them twenty four hours in

strong brine, and then take them, out and heat the brine, and pour it on

scalding hot, and let them stand till next day Drain them, and throw

them into spiced vinegar.

SAUCES AND SALADS.

Success in preparing savory meats and salads depends

greatly on the different sauces, and these demand extra

care in preparation and in flavoring. The following is a sauce

that is a great favorite, and serves for some meats, for fish,

for macaroni, and for some salads :

Milk and Egg Sauce, (excellent.)—Take eight table-spoonfuls of

butter and mix it with a table-spoonful of flour, add a pint of milk and

lieat it, stirring constantly till it tliickens a little. Then beat the yelk of

an egg in a table-spoonful of water and mix it well with the sauce, tak-

ing care that it does not boil, but only be very hot. For fish, add to

the above a table-spoonful of vinegar or lemon-juice and a little of the

peel grated. Some add parsley chopped ; and for boiled fowls, add chop-

ped oysters. Fine bread-crumbs are better than flour for thickening. For

macaroni, make in the dish alternate layers with that and grated cheese,

and then pour on this sauce before baking, and it is very fine. Some

omit the cheese,

Dra>Tn Butter.—Take six table-spoonfuls of butter, half a tea-spoon-

ful of salt, two tea-spoonfuls of flour or of fine bread-crumbs worked into

the butter, and one tea^cup of hot water. Heat very hot, but do not let it

boil. Two hard-boiled and chopped eggs improve it much. For fish,

add a table-spoonful of vinegar and chopped capers or green nasturtion

seeds.

Mint Sauce for Boast Lamb.—Chop three table-spoonfuls of green

mint, and add a heaping table-spoonful of sugar and half a coffee-cup of

vineo'ar. Stir them while heating, and cool before using.

Cranberry Saure.—Wash well and put a tea-cup of water to every

quart of cranberries. Let them stew about an hour-and a half, then take

up and sweeten abundantly. Some strain them through a colander, then

sweeten largely and then put into moulds. To be eaten with fowls.

Apple Sauce.—Core and slice the best apples you can get, cook till

soft, then add sugar and n little butter. Serve it with fresh pork and

veaL

GRAVIES, SAUCES, AND SALADS. . 4'75

TValmit or Butternut Catsup.—Gather the nuts when they can bepierced with a pin. Beat them to a soft pulp and let them lie for twoweeks in quite salt water, say a small handful of salt to every twenty, andwater enough to cover them. Drain off this liquor, and pour on a pintof boiling vinegar and mix with the nuts, and then strain it out. Toeach quart of this liquor put three table-spoonfuls of pepper, one of gin-ger, two spoonfuls of powdered cloves, and three spoonfuls of grated nut-meg. Boil an hour and bottle when cold. See that the spice is equallymixed. Do not use mushroom catsup, as the above is as good and notso dangerous.

Mock Capers.—Dry the green but full-grown nasturtion seeds for a dayin the sun, then put them in jars and pour on spiced vinegar. These are

good for fish sauce, in drawn butter.

Salad Dressing.—Mash fine two boiled potatoes, and add a tea-spoon-

ful of mustard, two of salt, four of sweet-oil, three of sharp vinegar, andthe yelks of two well-boiled eggs rubbed fine. Mix first the egg andpotatoes, add the mustard and salt, and gradually mix in the oil, stirring

vigorously the while. Stir in the vinegar last. Melted butter may beused in place of sweet-oil. The more a salad dressing is stirred, the bet-

ter it will be.

Turkey or Chicken Salad, also a lettuce Salad.—Take one quarter

chopped meat (the white meat of the fowl is the best for this purpose)

and three quarters chopped celery, well mixed, and pour over it a sauce

containing the yelka of two hard-boiled eggs chopped, a tea-spoonful of

salt, half a salt-spoonful of black pepper, half a tea-spoonful of mustard,

tliree tearspoonfuls of sugar, half a tea-cupful of vinegar, and three tea-

spoonfuls of sweet-oil or of melted butter. Mix the salt, pepper, sugar,

and mustard thoroughly, whip a raw egg and add slowly, stir in tlie

sweet-oil or melted butter, mixing it well and very slowly, and lastly add

the vinegar. Garnish vrith rings of whites of eggs boiled hard. Chop-

ped pickles may be added and white cabbage in place of the celery.

Tomato Catsup.—^Boil a peck of tomatoes, strain through a colander,

and then add four great-spoonfuls of salt, one of pounded mace, half a

table spoonful of black pepper, a table-spoonful of powdered cloves, two

table-spoonfuls of ground mustard, and a table spoonful of celery seed tied

in a muslin rag. Mix all and boil five or six hours, stirring frequently

and constantly the last hoar. Let it cool in a stone jar, take out the

celery seed, add a pint of vinegar, bottle it and keep it in a dark, cool

place.

XL

FISH.

Stewed Oysters.—Strain off all the oyster liquor, and then add half as

much water as you have oysters. Some of the best housekeepers say

this ia better than using the liquor. Add a salt-spoonful of salt for each

pint of oysters, and half as much pepper ; and when they begin to simmer,

add half a small tea-cup of milk for each pint of oysters. When the

edges begin to " ruffle," add some butter, and do not let them stand, but

serve immediately. Oysters should not simmer more than five minutes

in the whole. When cooked too long, they become hard, dark, and taste-

less.

Fried Oysters.—Lay them on a cloth to absorb the liquor ; then

dip first in beaten egg, and afterward in powdered cracker, and fry

in hot lard or butter to a light brown. If fresh lard is used, put in a

little salt. Cook quickly in very hot fat, or they will absorb too muchgrease.

Oyster Fritters.—Drain off the liquor, and to each pint of oysters

take a pint of milk, a. salt-spoonful of salt, half as much pepper, and

flour enough for a, thin batter. Chop tlie oysters and stir in, and then

fry in hot lard, a little salted, or in butter. Drop in one spoonful at a time.

Some make the batter thicker so as to put in one oyster at a time

surrounded by the batter.

Scalloped Oysters.—Make alternate layers of oysters and crushed

crackers wet with oyster liquor, and milk warmed. Sprinkle each layer

with salt and pepper, (some add a mry little nutmeg or cloves ;) let thi

top and bottom layer be crackers. Put bits of butter on the top, pour on

some milk with a beaten egg in it, and bake half an hour.

Broiled Oysters.—^Dip in fine cracker crumbs, broil very qmck, andput a small bit of butter on each when ready to serve.

Oyster Omelet, (very fine.)—Take twelve large oysters chopped fine.

Mix the beaten yelks of six eggs into a tea-cupful of milk, and add the

oysters. Then put in a spoonful of melted butter, and lastly add the

whites of the eggs beaten to a stiff froth. Fry this in hot butter or

salted lard, and do not stir it while cooking. Slip a knife around the

edges while cooking, that the centre may cook equally, and turn it out

so that the brown side be uppermost.

FISB. 477

Pickled Oysters.—Tate for fifty large oysters half a pint of vinegar,

six blades of mace, twelve black pepper-corns, and twelve whole cloves.

Heat the oysters with the liquor, but not to boil ; take out tlie oysters,

and then put tlie vinegar and spices into the liquor, boil it, and when the

oysters are nearly cold, pour on the mixture scalding hot. Next day corkthe oysters tight in glass jars, and keep them in a dark and cool place.

Vinegar is sometimes made of sulphuric or pyroligneous acid, and this

destroys the pickles. Use cider or wine vinegar.

Koast Oysters.—Put oysters in the shell, after washing them, upon

the coals so that the flat side is uppermost, to save the liquor ; and take

them up when they begin to gape a little.

Scallops.—Dip them in beaten egg and cracker'crumbs, and fry or

stew them like oysters. ^

Clams.—Wash them and roast them ; or stew or fry them like oysters ;

or make omelets or fritters by the recipe for oysters.

Clam Chowder.—Make alternate layers of crackers wet in milk, and

clams with their liquor, and thin slices of fried salt pork. Season with

black pepper and salt. Boil three quarters of an hour. Put this into a

tureen, having drained off some liquor which is to be thickened with

flour or pounded crackers, seasoned with catsup and wine, and then

poured into the tureen. Serve with pickles.

Boiled Fish.—Wrap in a cloth wet with vinegar, floured inside. Boil

in cold salted water till the bones will slip out easily ; drain and serve

with egg sauce, or drawn butter, or a sauce of milk, butter, and egg.

Try boiling fish with a fork, and if that goes in easily, it probably is done.

Broiled Fish.—Split so that the backbone is in the middle ; sprinkle

with salt ; lay the inside down at first till it. begins to brown, then turn

and broil the other side. Dress with butter, pepper, and salt. It is best

to take out the backbone.

Baked Fish.—Wash and wipe, and rub with salt and pepper outside

and inside. Set it on a grate over a baking-pan, and baste with butter

and the drippings ; if it browns too fast, cover with white paper. Thicken

the gravy, and season to the taste, using lemon-juice or tomato catsup:

Some put in wine.

Pickle for cold Fish.—To two quarts of vinegar add a pint of the

liquor in which the fish was boiled, a dozen black pepper-corns, a dozen

cloves, three sticks of cinnamon, and a tea-spoonful of mustard. Let

them boil up, and then skim so as not to take out the spice.

Cut the fish into inch squares, and when the liquor boils, put them into

it till just heated through. Pack tight in a glass jar, and then pour on

the pickle ; cook it till air-tight. This will keep a long time. It is a

great convenience for a supper relish.

XII.

VEGETABLES.

Peesh-gatheeed vegetables are much the best. Soaking in

cold water improves all. Always boil in salted water, a tea-

spoonful for each quart of water. Do not let them stop boil-

ing, or they will thus become watery.

POTATOES.

The excellence of potatoes depends greatly on the species, and

on the age. Much also depends on the cooking, and here there

are diversities of modes and opinions. Peeling potatoes be-

fore cooking saves labor at the time of taking up dinner, which

is a matter of consequence. They shbuld, after peeling, soak

an hour in cold water ; then boil them in salted water, putting

them in when the water boils. Have them equal in size, that all

may be done alike. Try with a fork, and when tender drain off

the water, sprinkle on a little fine salt, and set them in the oven,

or keep them hot in the pot till wanted.

Some boil with skins on ; in this case, pare off a small ring,

or cut off a little at each end for the water within, to escape, »

as this makes them more mealy.

Some make a wire basket and put in the potatoes peeled and

of equal size ; and when done, take them up and set in the

oven a short time. This is the surest and easiest method.

Old potatoes should be boiled in salted water, then mashed

with salt, pepper, and cream or butter.

New potatoes boil in salted water, and rub off the tender

skins with a coarse towel.

A good Way for old Potatoes.—Peel and soak in cold water half an

Lour, tlien slice them into salted water tliat is boiling ; when soft, pour

off the water, add cream, or milk and butter, with salt and pepper, also

dredge in a very little flour.

VEGETABLES. 479

Another way is to chop the cold boiled potatoes, and then mix in milk,

butter,' salt, and pepper.

Some cold potatoes are nice cooked on a gridiron. A favorite relish for

supper is cold potatoes sliced and dressed with a salad dressing of boiled

eggs, salt, mustard, oil and vinegar.

Cold Potato Putts.—Take cold mashed or chopped potatoes and stir

in milk and melted butter. Beat two eggs and mix, and then bake till

browned. It is very nice, and the children love it as well as their elders.

This may be baked in patties for a pretty variety.

To cook Sweet Potatoes.—The best way is to parboil with the skins

on, and then bake in a stove oven.

Green Corn.—Husk it ; boil in salted water, and eat from the cob ; or

cut off the corn and season it with butter or cream and salt and pepper.

If green corn is to be roasted, open it and take off the silk, and then cook it

with husks on, buried in hot ashes ; or if before the fire, turn it often.

Succotash.—Boil white beans by themselves. Cut the corn from the

cob and let the cobs boil ten minutes, then take them out and put in the

com. Have only just water enough to cover thecorn when cut. If there

is more than a tea-cupful when the corn is boiled about half an hour,

lessen it to that quantity, and add as much milk, and let the boil-

ing continue till, on trial, the corn is soft, and then stir in a table-spoon-

ful of flour wet in cold water. Then let it boil three or four minutes,

take up the corn, and add the beans, with butter, pepper, and salt. Have

twice as much corn as beans. Some use string-beans cut up.

If you have boiled corn left on the cob, cut it off for breakfast, and add

milk and eggs, salt and pepper, and bake it. Some say this is the best

way of all to cook sweet corn.

Salsify, or Oyster Plant.—Scrape, cut into inch pieces, and throw into

cold water awhile; put into salted boiling water, just enough to cover

them, and when tender turn off the water and add milk, butter, salt, and

pepper, and thicken with a very little flour ; then serve. Or, mash fine,

and add a beaten egg and a little flour ; make round, flat cakes, and cook

on a griddle.

Egg Plant.—Cut into slices an inch thick and peel. Lay these in

salted water an hour ; then dip into egg, and rub in bread or cracker-

crumbs, and cook on a griddle.^

Carrots. Boil in salted water till tender, take off the skin, slice and

butter them. They are improved by cooking in broth. Some add chop-

ped onion and parsley.

480 THE HOUSEKEEPERS MANUAL.

Beets.—Wash, but do not cut tliem before boiling ; boil till tender,

take off the skin, slice and season with salt, pepper, vinegar, and melted

butter. If any are left, slice them into vinegar, for a pickle.

Parsnips.—Boil in salted water, take off the skins, cut in slices length-

wise, and season with salt, pepper, and butter. When cold, chop fine,

add salt, pepper, egg, and flour, make small cakes, and cook on a.

griddle.

Pumpkin and Squash.—Cut in slices, boil in salted water till, tender,

drain, and season with salt, pepper, and butter. Baked pumpkin, cut in

slices, is very good.

Celery.—Cut off th oots and green leaves, wash, and keep in cold

water till wanted.

Radishes.—Wash, cut off tops, and lay in cold water till wanted.

Onions.—Many can n6t eat onions without consequent discomfort

;

though to most others they are a healthful and desirable vegetable. Thedisagreeable effect on the breath, it is said, may be prevented by after-

ward chewing and swallowing three or four roasted coffee-beans. Those

who indulge in this vegetable should, as a matter of politeness and bene-

volence, try this precaution.

The best way to cook onions is to peel, cut off top and tail, put in cold

water for awhile, and then into boiling salted water. When nearly done,

pour off' the water, except a little, then add milk, butter, pepper, and salt.

When onions are old and strong, boil in two or three waters ;.have each

time boiling water.

Tomatoes.—Pour on scalding water, then remove the skins, cut themup, and boil about half an hour. Add salt, butter or cream, and sugar.

Adding green corn cut from the cob is a good variety. Some use pound-

ed or grated stale bread-crumbs to thicken. Some slice without peeling,

broil on a gridiron, and then season with pepper, salt, and butter. Somepeel, slice, and put in layers, with seasoning and bread-crumbs between,

and bake in an oven. If eaten raw, the skins should be removed by a

knife, as scalding lessens flavor and crispness. Ice improves them much.

The acid is so sharp that many are injured by eating too many.

encumbers.—^Peel and slice into cold water, and in half an hour drain

and season with salt, pepper, and vinegar. Some slice them quarter

of an inch thick into boiling water, enough to cover them, and in fifteen

minutes drain through a colander, and season with butter, salt, pepper,

and vineg

Cabbage and Cauliflower.—Take i the outer leaves and look foi

any insects to be removed, and let it stand in cold water awhile.

VEBETABLSa. 481

Tt should be cut twice transversely through the hardest part, that

all may cook alike. It is more delicate if boiled awhile in cue -water

then changed to another boiling hot water, in the same or another

vessel. If you are cooking corned beef, use for the second water some

of the meat liquor, and it improves the flavor. Drain it through a

colander. Some chop the cabbage before serving, and add butter,

salt, pepper, and vinegar. Others omit the vinegar, and add two beaten

fggs and a little milk, then bake it like a pudding. This is the favo-

rite mode in some families. Cauliflower is to be treated like cabbage.

Asparagus.—The best way to cook it is to cut it into inch pieces, leave

out the hardest parts, boil in salted water, drain with a colander, and

add pepper, salt, melted butter or cream, when taken up. Some beat up

eggs and add to this, stir till hardened a little, and then serve.

Macaroni.—Break into inch pieces and put into salted boiling water,

and stew till soft—say twenty minutes. Drain it and put it in layers in

a pudding-dish, with grated cheese between each layer. Add a little

salted milk or cream, and bake about half an hour. Many can not eat

this with cheese. In this case it is better to pour cold soup or gravy upon

it, and bake without cheese.

xm.

FAMILY BKEAD.

The most important article of food is good family bread,

and the most healthful kind of bread is that made of coarse

flour and raised with yeast. All that is written against the

healthfulness of yeast is owing to sheer ignorance^ as the most

learned physicians and chemists will affirm.

Certain recent writers on hygiene are ultra and indiscrimi-

nating in regard to the use of unbolted flour. The simple facts

about it are these : Every kernel of wheat contains nutriment

for different parts of the body, and in about the right propor-

tions. Thus, the outside part contains that which nourishes

the bones, teeth, hair, nails, and the muscles. The germ, or

eye, contains what nourishes the brain and nerves; and the

central part (of which fine flour is chiefly made) consists of

that which forms fat, and furnishes fuel to produce animal

heat, while in gentle combustion it unites with oxygen in the

capillaries. When first ground, the flour contains all the ingre-

dients as in the kernel. The first bolting alters the proportions

but very little, forming what is called middlings. The second

bolting increases the carbonaceous proportion, making fine

flour. The third bolting makes the superfine flour, and re-

moves nearly all, except the carbonaceous portion, which is

fitted only to form fat and generate animal heat. No animal

could live on superfine flour alone but for a short time, as has

been proved by experiments on dogs.

But meats, vegetables, fruit, eggs, milk, and several other

articles in family diet contain the same elements as wheat,

though in difierent proportions ; so that it is only an exclusive

use of fine flour that is positively dangerous. Still there is no

doubt that a large portion of young children using white bread

FAMILY BREAD. 483

for common food, especially if butter, sugar, and molasses areadded, have their teeth, bones, and muscles not properlynourished. And it is a most unwise, uneconomical, and un-healthful practice to use flour deprived of its most importantelements because it is white and is fashionable. It would bemuch cheaper, as well as more healthful, to use the middlings,instead of fine or supei-fine flour. It would be still better to

use unbolted flour, except where delicate stomachs can not bear

it, and in thatpase the middlings would serve nearly as well for

nutrition and give no trouble.

Some suppose that bread wet with milk is better than if wetwith water, in the making. Many experienced housekeepers

say that a little butter or lard in warm water makes bread

that looks and tastes exactly like that wet with, milk, and

that it does not spoil so soon.

Experienced housekeepers say also that bread, if thoroughly

Jcneaded, may be put in the pans, and then baked as soon as

light enough, without the second or third kneading, which is

often practiced. This saves care and trouble, especially in

training new cooks, who thus have only one chance to makemistakes, instead of two or three.

It is not well to use yeast powders instead of yeast, because

it is a daily taking of medicinal articles not needed, and often

injurious. Cream tartar is supertartrate of potash, and soda

is a supercarbonate of soda. These two, when united in dough,

form tartrate of potash, tartrate of soda, and carbonate of

soda ; while some one of the three tends to act chemically and

injuriously on the digestive fluids. Professor Hosford's method

is objectionable for the same reason, especially when his medi-

cal articles are mixed with flour ; for thus poor flour is sold

more readily than in ordinary cases. These ,statements the

best-informed medical men and chemists will verify.

Flour loses its sweetness by keeping, and this is the reason

why sugar is put in the recipes for bread. The best kind of

flour, when new and fresh ground, has eight per cent of sugar

;

and when such flour is used, the sugar may be omitted.

Some people make bread by mixing it so that it can be

stirred with a spoon. But the nicest kind of bread can be

made only with a good deal of kneading.


EBCrPES FOR TEAST AST) BEBAD.

The best yeast is brewers' or distillery, as this raises bread

much sooner than home-brewed. The following is the best

kind of home-made yeast, and will keep good two or three

weeks

:

Hop and Potato Yeast.—Pare and slice five large potatoes, and toil

them in one quart of water with a large handful of common hops, (or a

square inch of pressed hops,) tied in a muslin rag. When soft, take

out the hops and press the potatoes through a colander, and add a small

cup of white sugar, a tea-spoonful of ginger, two tea-spoonfuls of salt, and

two tea-cups of common yeast, or half as much distillery. Add the yeast

when the rest is only blood-warm. White sugar keeps better than brown,

and the salt and ginger help to preserve the yeast.

Do not boil in iron or use an iron spoon, as it colors the yeast. Keepyeast in a stone or earthenware jar, with a plate fitting well to the rim.

This is better than a, jug, as easier to fill and to cleanse. Scald the jar

before making new yeast.

The rule for quantity is, one table-spoonful of brewers' or distillery

yeast to every quart of flour ; or twice as much home-made yeast.

Potato Teast is made by the above rule, omitting the hops. It can beused in large quantities without giving a bitter taste, and so raises bread

sooner. But it has to be renewed much oftener than hop yeast, andthe bread loses the flavor of hop yeast.

Hard Teast is made with home-brewed yeast, (not brewers' or distil-

lery,) thickened with Indian meal and fine flour in equal parts, and thenmade into cakes an inch thick and three inches by two in size, dried in

the wind but not in the sun. Keep them tied in a bag in a dry, cool

place, where they will not freeze. One cake soaked in a pint of warmwater, (not hot,) is enough for four quarts of flour. It is a good plan to

work in mashed potatoes into this yeast, and let it rise well before usingit. This makes the nicest bread. Some housekeepers say pour boiling

water on one third of the flour, and then mix the rest in immediately, andit has the same effect as using potatoes.

When there is no yeast to start with, it can be made with one jMnt of

new milk, one tea-spoonful of fine salt, and a table-spoonful of flour.

When it is worked, use twice as much as common yeast. This is called

Milk Yeast or Salt Risings, and bread made of it is poor, and soon spoils.

When yeast ceases to look foamy, and becomes watery, with sediment

at the bottom, it must be renewed. When good, the, smell is pungent,

but not sour. If sour, nothing can restore it.

Thread of Fine Flour.—Take four quarts of sifted flour, one quart of

lukewarm water, in which are dissolved two tea-spoonfuls of salt, two tea-

FAMILY BREAD. 485

spoonfuls of sugar, a table-spoonful of melted butter, and one cup ofyeast. Mix and knead very tJiorouglily, and have it as soft as can bemolded, using as little flour as possible. Make it into small loaves, putit in buttered pans, prick it witli a fork, and when light enough to crack

on the top, bake it. Nothing but experience will show when bread is j ust

at the right point of lightness.

If bread rises too long, it becomes sour. This is discovered by makinga sudden opening and applying the nose, and the sourness will be noticed

as different from the odor of proper lightness. Practice is needed in this.

If bread is light too soon for the oven, knead it awhile, and set it in a cool

place. Sour bread can be remedied somewhat by working in soda dis-

solved in water—about half a tea-spoonful for each quart of flour. Manyspoil bread by too much flour, others by not kneading enough, and others

by allowing it to rise too much.

The goodness of bread depends on the quality of the flour. Some flour

will not make good bread in any way. New and good flour has a yel-

lowish tinge, and when pressed in the hand is adhesive. Poor flour is

dry, and will not retain form when pressed. Poor flour is bad economy;

for it does not make as nutritious bread as does good flour.

Bread made with milk sometimes causes indigestion to invalids and to

children with weak digestion.

Take loaves out of the pans, and set them sidewise, and not flat, on a

table. Wrapping in a cloth makes the bread clammy.

Bread is better in small loaves. Let your pans be of tin, (or better, of

iron,^ eight inches long, three inches high, three inches wide at the

bottom, and flaring so as to be four inches wide at the top. This size

makes more tender crust, and cuts more neatly than larger loaves.

Oil the pans with a swab and sweet butter or lard. They should be

well washed and dried, or black and rancid oil will gather.

All these kinds of bread can be baked in biscuit-form ; and, by adding

water and eggs, made into griddle-cakes. Bread having potatoes in it

keeps moist longest, but turns' sour soonest.

Bread of Middling'S or Unbolted Flour.—Take four quarts of coarse

flour, one quart of warm water, one cup of yeast, two tea-spoonfuls of salt,

one spoonful of melted lard or butter, two cups of sugar or molasses, and

half a tea-spoonful of soda. Mix thoroughly, and bake in pans the same

as the bread of fine flour. It is better to be kneaded rathef than made

soft with a spoon.

Bread raised with Water only.—Many persons like bread made

either of fine or coarse flour and raised with water only. Success in

making this kind depends on the proper quantity of water, quick beating,

the heating of very small pans, and very quick baking. There are cast,

iron patties made for this p^^pose, and also small, coarse earthen cups.

The following is the rule, but it must be modified by trying

:


Becipe.—To one quart of unbolted flour put about one quart, or a little

less, of Jiot water. Beat it very quickly, put it in hot pans, and bake in a

bot oven. White flour may be used in place of coarse, and the quantity

ascertained by trial. When right, there is after baking little except a

crust, which is sweet and crisp.

Rye and Indian Bread.—The Boston or Eastern Brown Bread is

made thus : One quart of rye, one quart of corn-meal, one cup of molas-

ses, half a cup of distillery yeast, or twice as much home-brewed ; one

tea-spoonful of soda, and one tea-spoonful of salt. Wet with hot water

till it is stiff as can be stirred with a spoon. This is put in a large brown

pan and baked four or five hours. It is good toasted, and improved by

adding boiled squash.

Third Bread.—This is made with equal parts of rye, corn-meal, and

unbolted flour. To one quart of warm water add one tea-spoonful of

salt, half a cup of distillery or twice aa much home-brewed yeast, and half

a cap of molasses, and thicken with equal parts of these three kinds of

flour. It is very good for a variety.

Eye Bread.—Take a quart of warm water, a tea-spoonful of salt, half

a cup of molasses, and a cup of home brewed yeast, or half as much of

distillery. Add flour till you can knead it, and do it very thoroughly.

Oat-Meal Bread.—Oat-meal is sometimes bitter from want of care in

preparing. When good, it makes excellent and healthfal bread.

Take one pint of boiling water, one great-spoonful of sweet lard or

butter, two great-spooufals of sugar ; melt them together, and thicken

with two thirds oat-meal and one third fine flour. When blood-warm,

add half a cup of home-brewed yeast and two well-beaten eggs. Mold

into small cakes, and bake on buttered tins, or make two loaves.

Fuinpliin Bread and Apple Bread.—These are very good for a

variety. Stew and strain pumpkins or apples, and then work in either

corn-meal or unbolted flour, or both. To each quart of the fruit add two

table-spooufuls of sugar, a pinch of salt, and a cap of home-brewed yeast.

If the apples are quite sour, add more sugar. Make it as stiff as can be

stirred with a spoon, and bake in patties or small loaves. Children like it

for a change.

Corn-BIeal Bread.—Always scald corn-meal. Melt two table-

spoonfuls of butter or sweet lard in one quart of hot water ; add a

tea-spoonful of salt and a tea-cup of sugar. Thicken with corn-meal,

and one third as much fine flour, or unbolted flour, or middlings. Twowell-beaten eggs improve it. Makeit as stiff as can be easily stirred with

a spoon, or, as some would advise, knead it like bread of white flour.

If raised with yeast, put in a tea-cup of home-brewed yeast, or half aa

FAMILY BREAD. 487

much of distillery. If raised with powders, mix two tea-spoonfals ofcream tartar thorougUy witli the meal, and one tea-spoonful of soda inthe water.

Sweet Rolls of Corn-Meal.—Mix half corn-meal and half fine or un-bolted flour ; add a little salt, and then wet it up with sweetened water,raise it with yeast, and bake in small patties or cups in a very quick oven.

Soda Biscuit.—In one quart of flour mix very thorouglily two tea-

spoonfuls of cream tartar, and a tea-spoonful of salt. Dissolve in a pintof warm water one tea-spoonful of soda and one table-spoonful of meltedbutter or lard. Mix quickly ; add flour till you can roll, but let it be as

soft as possible. Bake in a quick oven, and as soon as possible after

mixing.

Teast Biscuit.—Take a pint of raised dough of fine flour ; pick it in

small pieces ; add one well-beaten egg, two great-spoonfuls of butter or

lard, and two great-spoonfuls ,of sugar. Work thoroughly for ten

minutes ; add flour to roll, and then cut in round cakes and bake on tins,

or mold into biscuits. Let them stand till light, and then bake in a

quick oven.

If you have no dough raised, make biscuit as you would bread except

adding more shortening.

Potato Bisscnit.—Boil and press through a colander twelve mealy po-

tatoes ; any others are not good. While warji, add one cup of butter,

one tea-spoonful of salt, four great-spoonfuls of sugar, and half a cup of

yeast. Mix in white or coarse flour till it can be well kneaded. Mold

into small cakes ; let them stand till light, and bake in a quick oven.

These are the best kind, especially if made of coarse flour.

Buns.—These are best made by the rule for potato biscuit, adding

twice as much sugar. When done, rub over a mixture of half milk and

half molasses, and it improves looks and taste.

XIV.

BREAKFAST AND SITPPEB.

What shall we have for breakfast to-morrow ? is the con^

stant question of trial to a housekeeper, and it is the aim ot

the present chapter to meet this want by presenting a goodand successive variety of articles healthful, economical, and

easily prepared.

Some of the best housekeepers have taken this method : they

provide a good supply of the following articles, to be used in

succession—rice, corn-meal, rye flour, wheat grits, unbolted

wheat, cracked wheat, pearl wheat, oat grits, oat-meal, andhominy, with which they make a new article for every day in

the week. Some one of these is selected for either a dinner

vegetable or dessert, or for a dish at tea, and the remainder

used for the next morning's breakfast. "

The following will indicate the methods

:

Corn-Meal.—Take four large cups of oorn-meal, and scald It. In oil

casea, scald corn-meal before using it. Add half a cup of fine flour, three

talble-spooufuls of sugar or molasses, one tea-spoonful of soda, and one of

salt. Make a batter, and boil an hour or more, stirring often ; or, better,

cook in a tin pail set in boiling water. Use it as mush, with butter,

sugar, and milk for supper. Next morning, thin it with hot water ; addtwo or three eggs, and bake either as muflSus or griddle-cakes.

Hominy.—Soak and then boil a quart of hominy with two heapingtea-spoonfuls of salt. Use it for dinner as a vegetable, or for supper with

sugar and milk or cream. Next morning use the remainder, soaked in

water or milk, with two eggs and a salt-spoonful of salt. Bake as muffins

or griddle-cakes, or cut in slices, dipped in flour and fried. Farina maybe used in the same way.

Rice.—Pick over one pint of rice j add two tea-spoonfuls of salt andthree quarts of boiling water. Then boil fifteen minutes ; then uncover

;

let it steam fifteen minutes. This to be used for a vegetable at dinner,

or for a tea-dish, with butterand sugar. At night, soak the remainder in

BREAKFAST AND SUPPER. 489

as mucli milk or water, and next morning add as much fine or unboltedflour as there was rice, three eggs, a tea-spoonful of salt, and half a tea^spoonful of soda. Thin with water or milk, and bake as muffins or grid-dle-cakes.

The most economical Breakfast Dish, (healthful also.)—Keep a,

jar for remnants of bread, both coarse and fine, for potatoes, remnants ofhominy, rice, grits, cracked wheat, oat-meal, and all other articles usedon table. Add all remnants of milk, whether sour or sweet, and waterenough to soak all, so as to be soft, but not thin. Wlien enough is col-

lected, add enough water to make a batter for griddle-cakes, and put in

enough soda to sweeten it. Add two spoonfuls of sugar, and half a tea-

spoonful of salt, and two eggs for each quart, and you make an excellent

dish ofmaterial, most of it usually wasted. Thicken it a little with fine

flour, and it makes fine waffles.

Biscuits of sour Milk and wliite or unbolted Flonr.—One pint

unbolted flour.

One spoonful of sugar.

One tea-spoonful of salt.

Melt a spoonful of butter in a little of the sour milk ; then mix all, and

just before setting in the oven, add very quickly and very thoroughly a tea-

spoonful of soda dissolved in half a tea-cup of water. This should be done

last and quickly, so that the carbonic acid gas produced by the union of

the soda and the acid of the milk (lactic)may not escape. Use half a tea-

cup of fine flour when molding into biscuits.

Pearl Wlieat, or Cracked Wlieat.—Boil one pint in a pail set in

boiling water till quite soft, but 'BO as not to lose its form. Add a tea-

Bpoonful of sugar, and as much salt ; also water, when needed. It mijst

boil a long time. Eat a part for supper, with sugar and cream, and next

morning add two eggs, a great-spooAful of sugar, and fine flour enough to

make it suitable for muffin-rings or drop-cakes.

Rye and Corn-Meal.—Put into a pint and a half of boiling water one

tea spoonful of salt, two great-spoonfuls of sugar, two well-beaten eggs,

three great-spoonfuls of corn-meal or unbolted wheat. Thicken with rye

flour, and then add two well-beaten eggs. Bake in muffin-rings or as

dropcakes. 4

Oat-Meal.—Take one pint of boiling water, and pour it on to one pint

of oat-meal. Add a great-spoonful of butter, half a tea-spoonful of salt,

and two greatspoonfuls of sugar. Stir fast and thoroughly ; then add

two well-beaten eggs, and boil twenty minutes. To be eaten as mush for

supper ; and next morning thin it, and bake in muffin-rings.

Several of the above articles are good with only salt and

490 'J'HE housekeeper's M iNUAL.

water ; and many persons would like them better with the but-

ter, sugar, and eggs omitted.

Wheat Muffins.— One pint of milk, and two eggs.

One table-spoonful of yeast, and a salt-spoonful of salt. One table-

spoonful of butter.

Mix these ingredients with sufficient flour to make a thick batter.

Let it Tise four or five hours, and bake in muffin-rings. This can be

made of unbolted flour or grits, adding two great-spoonfuls of molasses,

and it is very fine.

Make it so thick that a tablespoon will stand erect in it.

Sally Llinn improred.—Seven tea-cups of unbolted flour, or flne flour.

One pint of water.

Half a cup of melted butter, and half a cup of sugar.

One pinch of salt.

Three well-beaten eggs.

Two table spoonfuls of brewers' yeast, or twice as much of home-brewed.

Pour into square buttered pans, and let it rise two or three hours with

brewers' yeast ; with home-brewed, five hours are required. It is still

better baked in patties.

Cream Grviddle-Cakes.—One pint of thick cream.


One table-spoonful of sugar.

Three well-beaten eggs.

Make a thin batter of unbolted or of flne flour, and bake on a griddle.

Eoyal Crnmpets.—Three tea-cups of raised dough.

j^wo table-spoonfuls of melted butter.

Half a tea-cup of white sugar, mixed with three well-beaten eggs.

Bake in two buttered pans for half an hour.

Muffins of flne Flour or unbolted Flour.—One pint of milk or water.

One pinch of salt.

Two well-beaten eggs.

One table-spoonful of yeast.

Make a thick batter of fine flour or unbolted flour, and let it rise four

or five hours. Bake in inuffin-rings.

Unbolted Flour Waffles.—One pint of unbolted flour.

One pint of sour milk, or buttermilk, or water.

Half a tea-spoonful of soda, or more if needed, to sweeten the milk.

Three, well-beaten eggs.

Two table-spoonfuls of sugar.

Drop-Cakes of flne Wheat or of Rye.—One pint of milk or water.

One pinch of salt.

BREAKFAST AND SVPPBB. 491

Two table-spoonfuls of sugar.Three well-beaten eggs.Stir in rye or fine or unbolted flour to a thick batter, and bake in cupsor patties naif an hour.

Sachem's Head Corn-Cake.-One quart of sifted corn-meal, scalded.One tea-spoonful of salt.

Three pints of scalded sweet milk or water.Half a tea-spoonful of soda in two great-spoonfuls of warm water.Half a tea-cup of sugar.

Eight eggs, the whites beaten separately, and added the last thingMa,k6 the cakes an inch thick in buttered pans before baking, and if

baked right, they wiU puff up to double the thickness, like sponge-cakeand are very fine.

'

Rice Waffles—One pint of milk. Half a t6a^:up of solid boUed ricesoaked three hours in the milk.

'

Two cups of wheat flour or rice flour.

Three well-beaten eggs. Bake in waffle-irons.The rice must be salted enough when boiled.

Another Rice Dish.—One pint of rice, well cleaned.Three quarts of cold water.

Three tea^spoonfuls of salt.

BoU it twenty minutes; then pour ofi' the water, add milk or cream,

and let it boil ten minutes longer, till quite soft. Let it stand till cold,'

and then cut it in slices and fry it on a griddle. It can also be made intogriddle-cakes or muffins by the preceding recipe.

A good and easy Way to use Cold Rice.—Heat a pint of boiled rice

in milk ; add two well-beaten eggs, a little salt, butter, and sugar ; let it

boil up once, and then grate on nutmeg.

BnckTrheat-Cakes.—One quart of buckwheat.


Two table-spoonfuls of distillery yeast, or four of home-brewed.Two table-spoonfuls of molasses.

Wet the flour with warm water, and then add the other articles. Keepthis warm through the night. If it sours, add half a tea-spoonful of soda

in warm water. These cakes have a handsomer brown if wet with milk

or part milk.

Fine Cottage Cheese.—Let the milk be turned by rennet; or by set-

ting it in a warm place. It must not be heated, as the oily parts will then

pass off, and the richness is lost. When fully turned, put in a coarse

linen bag, and hang it to drain several hours, till all the whey is

492 TBE SOUSEKEEPBB'S MANUAL.

out. Then mash it fine, salt it to the taste, and thin it with good

cream, or add but little cream, and roll it into balls. When thin, it is

very fine with preserves or sugared fruit.

It also makes a fine pudding, by thinning it with milk, and adding

eggs and sugar, and spice to the taste, and baking it. Many persons

use milk when turned to bonny-clabber for a. dessert, putting on sugar

and spice. Children are fond of it.

Various Ways of cookingr Eggs.—Put eggs into boiling water from

three to five minutes, according to taste. A hard-boiled egg is perfectly

healthy if well masticated. Another way is to put them in a bowl or an

egg-boiler, and pour on boiling water for two or three minutes, then

pour off the water and add boiling water, and in five or six minutes the

eggs will be cooked enough.

To make a, plain omelet, beat the yolks of six eggs, add a cup of milk,

season with salt and pepper, and then stir in the whites cut to a stiff

froth. Cook in a frying-pan or griddle, with as little butter or fat as pos-

sible. Let it cook about ten minutes, and then take up with a spad, or

lay a hot dish over and turn the omelet on to it. This is improved by

mixing in chopped ham or fowl. Some put sugar in, but it is more apt

to burn.

A bread omdet is made as above, with bread-crumbs added, and is very

good.

An apple omelet is made as above, with mashed apple-sauce added, and

this also is very good. Jelly may be used instead of apple.

XV.

PUDDINGS AND PIES.

Where sugar is made by slaves, the little children feed con-*

stautly on it, and grow fat and healthy. But they are nearlynaked, live out of doors, exercise constantly, and have nothingto do but play. Thus their lungs and skin gain the healthful

and purifying action of the air and the sun, and the excess of

carbonaceous food is rendered harmless. But for those whoseskin never meets the sun, rarely meets the air, and only now andthen some water, a very different regimen is needful. Sugar,

molasses, butter, and fats are chiefly carbonaceous, and, there-

fore, demand a lai-ge supply of oxygen through lungs andskin. And yet our custom is to use fine flour, wliich is chiefly

carbon ; butter and cream, chiefly carbon ; sweet cakes, chiefly

carbon; sweetmeats and candy, chiefly carbon; and worst of

all, pie-crusts, chiefly carbon, and the most difficrult of all food

for digestion.

But the love for sweet food is common to all, and demands

gratification. All that is required is moderation and tempe-

rance. For these reasons, a large supply is here provided of

cakes and puddings, which are not rich, and yet are as highly

relished as richer food. As pies are the most unhealthful of

all food, some instruction and but few recipes are given, lest

if entirely omitted, the book would not be read so widely, and

other, more unhealthful ones be used.

The puddings here oflered afibrd a great variety for desserts,

are made with far less labor than pies, and are both more eco-

nomical and more healthful. They also can be made more

ornamental and attractive in appearance, and equally good to

the taste. It is hoped, therefore, that the conscientious house-

keeper will not tempt her family to eat unhealthful food when

such an abundance is ofieredthat is at once economical of labor,

494 THE BOUSEKEEPBB'S MANUAL.

time, expense, and health. The first recipe for pudding can

be varied in many ways, and has the advantage which hereto-

fore has recommended pies, namely, that several can be madeat once, and kept on hand as equally good either cold or

warmed over. It is also economical and convenient, as not

requiring eggs or milL

The Queen of all Puddings.—Soak a tea-cup of tapioca and a tea-

fpoonful of salt in tlaree tumblerfuls of warm, not hot, water for an hour

or two, till softened. Take away the skins and cores of apples without

dividing them, put them in the dish with sugar in the holes, and spice if

the apples are without flavor ; not otherwise. Add a cup of water, and

bake till the apples are softened, turning them to prevent drying, and

then pour over the tapioca, and bake a long time, till all looks a brown-ish YELLOW. Eat with a hard sauce. Do not fail to bake a long time.

This can be extensively varied by mixing chopped apples, or quinces,

or oranges, or peaches, or any kind of berries with the tapioca ; and then

sugar must be added according to the acid of the fruit, though somewould prefer it omitted when the sauce is used.

The beauty maybe increased by a cover of sugar beaten into the whites

of eggs, and then turned to a yellow in the oven. Several such puddings

can be made at once, kept in a cool place, and when wanted warined

over ; many relish it better when very cold. Sago can be uSed instead

of tapioca. When no sago or tapioca are at hand, the following recipe

for flour pudding may be used, baking long time

:

Flour Puddings.—Take four table-spoonfuls of flour, halfa tea-spoonful

of salt, a pint of water or milk, three eggs, and a salt-spoonful of soda.

Mix and beat very thoroughly, and bake as soon as done, or it will not

be light. It must bake till the middle is not lower than the rest. Eat

with liquid sauce. This can be cooked in a covered tin pan set in boiling

water. This is enough for a family of five. Change the quantity ac-

cording to the family.

This may be made richer by a spoonful of butter, more sugar, and

some flavoring.

It will be lighter not to beat the eggs separately. If a bag is used to

boil, rub flour or butter on the inside, to prevent sticking.

Flour and Fruit Puddings.—Add to the above, chopped apples or any

kind of berries. Chopped apples and quinces together are fine whendried. "When berries are used, a third more flour is needed for those very

juicy, and less for cherries. Put in fruit the last thing.

Rusk and Milk.—^Keep all bits of bread, dry in the oven, and pound

them, putting half a salt-spoonful of salt to a pint. This eaten with good

PUDDINGS AND PIES. 495

milk is -what is especially relished by children, and named' " rusk and

milk."

Rusk Puddings.—Mix equal quantities of rusk-crumbs with stewed

fruit or berries, then add a very sweet custard, made with four or five eggs

to a quart of milk. Eaten with sweet sauce. This may be made without

fruit, and is good with sauce.

Meat and Bnsk Puddings.—Chop any kind of cold meat with salt

pork or ham, season it well with butter, pepper, and salt, and add two

or three beaten eggs. Then make alternate layers of wet rusk-crumbs,

with milk or cold boiled hominy or rice, and bake half or three quarters

of an hour. Let the upper layer be crumbs, and cover with a plate while

baking, and, when nearly done, take it off to brown the top.

A handsome and good Pudding easily Made.—Put a pint of scalded

milk (water will do as well) to a pint of bread-crumbs, and add the yelks

of four eggs, well beaten, a tea-cup of sugar, butter the size of an egg,

and the grated rind of one lemon. Bake and, when cool, cover with

stewed fruit of any kind. Then beat the whites of the eggs into five

table-spoonfuls of powdered sugar and the juice of one lemon. Cover the

pudding with it, and set in the oven till it is a brownish yellow. Pud-

dings covered with sugar and eggs in this way are called Meringue

Puddings.*

Pan Dowdy.—Put apples pared and. sliced into a large pan, and put

in an abundance of molasses or sugar, and some spice if the apples have

little flavor ; not otherwise. Cover with bread-dough, rolled thin, or a

potato pie-crust. Bake a long time, and then break the crust into the

fruit in small pieces. Children are very fond of this, especially if well

sweetened and baked a long time.

Corn-Meal " Pop-orers.—Two tumblers of scalded corn-meal fresh

'ground, three well-beaten eggs, a cup of milk or water, a tea-spoonful

of salt, and three of sugar, two spoonfuls of melted butter. Bake in hot

patties, and eat with sweet sauce.

Best Apple-Pie.—Take a deep dish, the size of a soup-plate, fill it

heaping with peeled tart apples, cored and quartered ;pour over it one

tea^cup of molasses, and three great-spoonfuls of sugar, dredge over this

a considerable quantity of flour, enough to thicken the syrup a good deal.

Cover it with a crust made of cream, if you have it ;if not, common dough,

with butter worked in, or plain pie-crust, lapping the edge over the dish,

and pinching it down tight, to keep the syrup from running out. Bake

about an hour and a half. Make several at once, as tUey keep weU.

Rice Pudding.—One tea^cup of rice.

One teacup of sugar.

One half teiwap of butter.

496 THE housekeeper'S MANUAL.

One quart of milk.

Nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt to the taste.

Put the butter in melted, mix all in a pudding-dish, and bake it

two houis, stirring it frequently, until the rice is swollen.

This is good made without butter.

Bread and Fruit Puddingr.—^Butter a deep dish, and lay in slices of

bread and butter, wet with milk, and upon these sliced tart apples,

sweetened and spiced. Then lay on another layer of bread and butter

and apples, and continue thus till the dish is filled. Let the top layer be

bread and butter, and dip it in milk, turning the buttered side down.

Any other kind of fruit will answer as well. Put a plate on the top, and

bake two hours, then take it off and bake another hour.

Boiled Fruit Padding.—Take light dough and work in a little butter,

roll it out into a very thin large layer, not a quarter of an inch thick.

Cover it thick with berries or stewed fruit, and put on sugar, roll it up

tight, double it once or twice, and fasten up the ends. Tie it up in a bag,

giving it room to swell. Eat it with butter, or sauce not very sweet.

Blackberries, whortleberries, raspberries, apples, and peaches, all makeexcellent puddings in the same way.

Eng-Iisli Curd Pudding.—One quart of milk.

A bit of rennet to curdle it.

Press out the whey, and put into the curds three eggs, a, nutmeg, and

a table-spoonful of brandy. Bake it like custard.

Common Apple-Pie.—Pare your apples, and cui them from the core.

Line your dishes with paste, and put in the apple ; cover and bake until

the fruit is tender. Then take them from the oven, remove the upper

crust, and put in sugar and nutmeg, cinnamon or rose-water, to your taste.

A bit of sweet butter improves them. Also, to put in a little orange-peel,

before they are baked, makes a pleasant variety. Common apple-pies

are very good to stew, sweeten, and flavor the apple before they are put

into the oven. Many prefer the seasoning baked in. All apple-pies are

miich nicer if the apple is grated and then seasoned.

Plain Custard.—Boil half a dozen peach-leaves, or the rind of a lemon,

or a vanilla beau in a quart of milk ; wlieu it is flavored, pour into it a

paste made by a table-spoonful of rice flour, or common flour, wet up with

two spoonfl&ls of cold milk and a half tea-spoonful of salt, and stir it till

it boils again. Then beat up four eggs and put in, and sweeten it to

your taste, and pour it out for pies or pudding. More eggs make it a rich

custard.

Bake as pudding, or boil in a tin pail set in boiling water, stirring

often, and pour into cups.

PUDDINGS AND FIES. 497

Another Custard.—Boil six peach-leaves, or a lemon-peel, in a quartof milk, till it is flavored ; cool it, add three spoonfuls of sugar, atea-spoonful of salt, and five eggs beaten to a froth. Put the custardinto a tin pail, set it in boiling water, and stir it till cooked enough.Then turn it into cups ; if preferred, it can be baked.

Mush, or Hasty Padding.—Wet up the Indian-meal in cold water, till

there are no lumps, stir it gradually into boiling water which has alittle sugar and more salt added ; boil till so thick that the stick willstand in it. Boil slowly, and so as not to burn, stirring often. Two orthree hours' boiling is needed. Pour it into a broad, deep dish, let it

grow cold, cut it into slices half an inch thick, flour them, and fry themon a griddle with a little lard, or bake them in a stove oven.

Stale Bread Pudding, (fine.)—Cut stale bread in thick slices, andput it to soak for several hours in cold milk.

Then cook on a griddle, with some salt, and eat it with sugar, or mo-lasses, or a sweet sauce. To make it more delicate, take off the crusts.

It is still better to soak it in uncooked custard. Baker's bread is best.

To prepare Rennet "Wine.—Put three inches square of calfs rennet to

a pint of wine, and set it away for use. Three table-spoonfuls will serve

to curdle a quart of milk.

Rennet Custard.—Put three table-spoonfuls of rennet wine to a quart

of milk, and add four or five great-spoonfuls of white sugar, and a salt-

spoonful of salt. Flavor it with wine, or lemon, or rose-water. It must

be eaten in an hour, or it will turn to curds.

Bird's-Nest Pudding.—Pare tart, well-flavored apples, scoop out the,

cores without dividing the apple, put tjiem in a deep dish with a small

bit of mace, and a spoonful of sugar in the opening of each apple. Pour

in water enough to cook them. When soft, pour over them an unbaked

custard, so as just to cover them, and bake till the custard is done.

AMinnte Pudding of Potato Starch—Take four heaped table-spoon-

fuls of potato flour, three eggs, and a tea-spoonful of salt, and one

quart ofmilk. Boil the milk, reserving a little to moisten the flour. Stir

the flour to a paste, perfectly smooth, with the reserved milk, and put it

into the boiling milk. Add the eggs well beaten, let it boil till very

thick, which will be in two or three minutes, then pour into a dish and

serve with liquid sauce. After the milk boils, the pudding must be stirred

every moment till done.

Tapioca Pudding.—Soak eight table-spoonfuls of tapioca in a quart

of warm milk and tea-spoonful of su9;ar, till soft, then add two table-

spoonfuls of melted sweet lard or butter, five eggs well beaten, spice.

498 THE BOUSEKEEPEB'S MANUAL.

sugar, and wine to your taste. Bake in a buttered disli, without any

lining. Sago may be used in place of tapioca.

Cocoa-nut Pudding, (plain.)—Take one quart of milk, five eggs, and

one cocoa-nut, grated. The eggs and sugar are beaten together, and

stirred into the milk when hot. Strain the milk and eggs, and add the

cocoa-nut, with nutmeg to the taste. Bake about twenty minutes like

paddings.

New-England Squash or Pumpkin-Pie.—-Take a pumpkin or winter-

squash, cut in pieces, take off the rind and remove the seeds, and boil

it until tender, then rub it through a sieve. When cold, add to it milk

to thin it, and to each quart of milk five well-beaten eggs. Sugar, cin-

namon, and ginger to your taste. The quantity of milk must depend

UDon the size and quality of the squash.

These pies require a moderate heat, andmust be baked until the centre

is firm.

Bipe Fruit-Pies—Peach, Cherry, PInm, Currant, and Strawben-y.

—Line your dish with paste. After picking over and washing the fruit

carefully, (peaches must be pared, and the rest picked from the stem,)

place a layer of fruit and a layer of sugar in your dish, until it is well

filled, then cover it with paste, and trim the edge neatly, and prick

the cover. Fruit-pies require about an hour to bake in a thoroughly-heated

oven.

Mock Cream.—Beat three eggs well, and add three heaping tea-spoon-

fuls of sifted flour. Stir it into a pint and a half of boiling milk, add a

salt-spoon of salt, and sugar to your taste. Flavor with rose-water or

essence of lemon.

This can be used for cream-cakpB or pastry.

A Pudding of Fruit and Bread-Crumbs.—Mix a pint of dried and

pounded bread-crumbs with an equal quantity of any kind of berries, or

of dried and chopped sour apples. Add three eggs, half a pint of mjlk,

tliree spoonfuls of fine flour, and half a tea spoonful of salt. Bake on a

griddle or in an oven in muffin-rings, or, when made thinner, as griddle-

cakes. If dried fruit is used, more milk is needed than for fresh berries.

This may also be boiled for a pudding. Flour the pudding-cloth and

tie tight, as it will not swell in cooking.

Bread and Apple Dumplings.—Mix half a pint of dried bread-crumbs

and half a pint of fine flour. Wet it with water and two eggs thick

enough to roll. Then put it around large apples peeled and cored whole,

and boil for dumplings in several small floured cloths, or put all into one

large floured cloth, tied tight, as they will not swell. Try with a fork,

and when the apples are soft, take up and serve with a sweet sauce.

PUDDINOS AND PIES. 499

An excellent Indian Pudding without Eggs.—Take seven heapingspoonfuls of scalded Indian meal, half a tea-spoonful of salt, two spoonfuls

ofbutter or sweet lard, a tea-cup of molasses, and two tea-spoonfuls of gin-

ger or cinnamon, to the taste. Pour into these » quart of milk while

boiling hot. Mis well and put in a buttered dish. Just as you set it in

the oven, stir in a tea-cup of cold water, which will produce the sameeflEect as eggs. Bake three quarters of an hour in a dish that will not

spread it out thin.

Boiled Indian and Suet Puddinj.—Three pints of milk, ten heaping

table-spoonfuls of sifted Indian meal, a tumblerful of molasses, two eggs.

Scald the meal with the milk, add the molasses and a tea-spoonful of salt.

Put in the eggs when it is cool enough not to scald them. Put in a table-

spoonful of ginger. Tie the bag so that it will be about two thirds full

of the pudding in order to give room to swell. The longer it is boiled

the better. Some like a little chopped suet with the above.

A Dessert of Eice and Fruit.—Pick over and wash the rice, and boil

it fifteen minutes iu water, with salt at the rate of a heaping tea-spoonful

to a quart. Rice is much improved by having the salt put in whUecooking. Pour out the water iu fifteen minutes after it begins to boil.

Then pour in rich milk and boil till of a pudding thickness. Then pour

it into cups to harden, when it is to be turned out inverted upon a platter

in small mounds. Make an opening on the top of each and put' in a pile

of jelly or fruit. Lastly, pour over all a custard made of three eggs, a

pint of milk, and a tea-spoonful of salt boiled in a tin pail set in boiling

water. This looks very prettily. Sweet cream with a little salt can be

used instead of custard. This can be modified by having the whole put

in a bowl and hardened, and then inverted and several openings made for

the fruit.

Another Dessert of Eice and Fruit.—Boil the rice in salted water,

a tea-spoonful to a quart of water. When cooked to a pudding consisten-

cy, cool it and then cut it in slices. Then put a thin layer of rice at the

bottom of a pudding-dish, cover it with a thin layer of jelly or stewed

fruit half an inch thick. Continue to add alternate layers of rice and

jelly or fruit, smooth it at top, grate on sugar, and then cut the edges to

show stripes of fruit and rice. Help it in saucers, and have cream or a

thin custard to pour on it. Make the custard with two eggs, half a pint

of milk, and half a tea-spoonful of salt. Boil it in a pail set in boiling

water.

Dessert of Cold Eice and Stewed or Grated Apple.—Cut cold

boiled rice in slices, and then lay in a buttered pudding-dish alternate

layers of rice and grated or stewed apples. Add sugar and spice to each

layer of apples. Cover with the rice, smooth with a spoon dipped in cold

500 THE ffOUSEKEEPEB'S MANUAL.

water or milk, and bake tliree quarters of an hour if tlie apples are raw.

To be served with a sweet sauce.

A rich Flour Pudding.—Six eggs.

Three spoonfuls of flour.

One pint of milk.

A tea-spoonful of salt.

Beat the yelks well and mix them smoothly with the flour, then add

the milk. Lastly, whip the whites to a stiff froth ; work them in, and

bake immediately.

To be eaten with a liquid sauce.

Apple-Pie.—Take fair apples;pare, core, and quarter them.

Take four table spoonfuls of powdered sugar to a pie.

Put into a preserving-pan, with the sugar ; water enough to make a

thin syrup ; throw in a few blades of mace ; boil the apple in the syrup

until tender, a little at a time, so as not to break the pieces. Take them

out with care, and lay them in soup-dishes.

When you have preserved apple enough for your number of pies, add

to the remainder of the syrup cinnamon and rose-water, or any other

spice, enough to flavor it well, and divide it among the pies. Make a

good paste, and line the rim of the dishes, and then cover them, leaving

the pies without an under crust. Bake them a light brown.

Spiced Apple Tarts.—Rub stewed or baked apples through a sieve

;

sweeten them, and add powdered mace and cinnamon enough to flavor

them. If the apples are not very tart, squeeze in the juice of a lemon.

Some persons like the peel of the lemon grated into it. Line soup-dishes

with a light crust, double on the rim, and fill them and bake them until

the crust is done. Little bars of crust, a quarter of an inch in width,

crossed on the top of the tart before it is baked, are ornamental.

Baked Indian Pudding'.—Three pints of milk.

Ten heaping table-spoonfuls of Indian meal.

Three gills of molasses.

A piece of butter, as large as a hen's egg.

Scald the meal with the milk, and stir in the butter and molasses, and

bake four or five hours. Some add a little chopped suet in place of the

butter. This can be boiled.

Apple Custard.—Take half a dozen very tart apples, and take off the

skin and cores. Cook them till they begin to be soft, in half a tea-cup

of water. Then put them in a pudding-dish, and sugar them. Thenbeat six eggs with four spoonfuls of sugar ; mix it with three pints of

mUk, and two tea-spoonfuls of salt;pour it over the apples, and bake for

about half an hour.

, PUDDINGS AND PIES. 601

Plain Macaroni or VermicelU Puddings.—Put two ounces of maca.roni or vermicelli into a pint of milk, and simmer until tender. Flavorit by putting in two or three sticks of cinnamon while boiling, or someother spice when done. Then beat up three eggs, mix in an ounce ofsugar, half a pint of milk, a tea-spoonful of salt, and a glass of wine. Addthese to the broken macaroni or vermicelli, and bake in a slow oven.

Green Corn Pudding.—Twelve ears of corn, grated. Sweet-corn isbest. One pint and a half of milk. Four well-beaten eggs. One tea-cupand a half of sugar.

Mix the above, and bake it three hours in a buttered dish. More sugaris needed if common corn is used.

Bread Pudding for Invalids or Young Children.—Grate half a poundof stale bread ; add a pinch of salt, and pour on a pint of hot milk, andlet it soak half an hour. Add two well-beaten eggs, put it in a coveredbasin just large enough to hold it, tie it in a pudding-cloth, and boil it

half an hour ; or put it in a buttered pan in an oven, and bake it that

time. Make a sauce of thin sweet cream, sweetened with sugar, andflavored with rose-water or nutmeg.

A Good Pudding.—Line a buttered dish with slices of wheat bread,

first dipped in milk. Pill the dish with sliced apple, and add sugar andspice. Cover with slices of bread soaked in milk ; cover close with a

plate, and bake three hours.

Loaf Padding.—When bread is too stale, put a loaf in a pudding-bag

and boil it in salted water an hour and a half, and eat it with hard pud-

ding sauce.

A Lemon Pudding.—Nine spoonfuls of grated apple, one grated lem-

on, (peel and pulp,) one spoonful of butter, and three eggs. Mix and

bake, with or without a crust, about an hour. Cream improves it.

Green Corn Patties, (like oysters.)—Twelve ears of sweet-corn grated.

(Yellow com will do, but not so well.)

One tea-spoonful of salt, and one of pepper.

One egg beaten into two table-spoonfuls of flour.

Mix, make into small cakes, and cook on a griddle.

Cracker Plum Pudding, (excellent,)—Make a very sweet custard,

and put into it a tea-spoonful of salt.

Take soda crackers, split them, and butter them very thick.

Put a layer of raisins on the bottom of a large pudding-dish, and then

a layer of crackers, and pour on a little of the custard when warm, and

after soaking a little, put on a thick layer of raisins, pressing them into

the crackers with a knife. Then put on another layer of crackers, cus-

502 TBE HOUSEKEEPERS MANUAL.

tard, and fruit, and proceed thus till you have four layers. Then pour

over the whole enough custard to rise even with the crackers. It is best

made over-night, so that the crackers may soak. Bake from an hour

and a half to two hours. During the first half-hour, pour on, at three

different times, a little of the custard, thinned with milk, to prevent the

top from being hard and dry. If it browns fast, cover with paper.

Bread and butter pudding is made in a similar manner.

BAUCBB FOR PUDDINaS.

Liquid Sauce.—Six table-spoonfuls of sugar. Ten table-spoonfuls of

water. Four table-spoonfuls of butter. Two table-spoonfuls of wine.

Nutmeg, or lemon, or orange-peel, or rose-water, to flavor.

Heat the water and sugar very hot. Stir in the butter till it is melted,

but be careful not to let it boil. Add the wine and nutmeg just before it

is used.

Hard Sauce.—Two table-spoonfuls of butter.

Ten table-spoonfuls of sugar.

Work this till white, then add wine or grated lemon-peel, and spice to

your taste.

Another Hard Sauce.—Mix half as much butter as sugar, and heat

it fifteen minutes in a bowl set in hot water. Stir till it foams. Flavor

with wine or grated lemon-peel.

A Healthful Pudding Sauce.—Boil, in half a pint of water, some

orange or lemon-peel, or peach-leaves. Take them out and pour in a thin

paste, made with two spoonfuls of flour, and boil five minutes. Then put

in a pint of sugar, and let it boil. Then put in two spoonfuls of butter,

add a glass of wine, and take it up before it boils.

An excellent Sauce for any kind of Pudding.—Beat the yelks of three

eggs into sugar enough to make it quite sweet. Add a tea-cup of cream,

or milk, and a little butter, and the grated peel and juice of two lemons.

When lemons can not be had, use dried lemon-peel, and a little tartaric

acid. This is a good sauce for puddings, especially for the starch minute

pudding. Good cider in place of wine is sometimes used.

PASTE FOE PUDDINGS AND PIBS.

This is an article which, if the laws of health were obeyed,

would be banished from every table ; for it unites the three

evils—animal fat, cooked animal fat, and heavy bread. No-

thing in the whole range of cooking is more indigestible than

rich pie-crust, especially when, as bottom crust, it is made still

worse by being soaked, or slack-baked. Still, as this work

PUDDINGS AND PIES. 503

does not profess to leave out unwholesome dishes, but only to

set forth an abundance of healthful ones, and the reasons for

preferring them, the best directions will be given for makingthe best kinds of paste.

Pie-Crusts without Fats.—Good crusts for ^lain pies are made by wet-

ting up the crust with rich milk turned sour, and sweetened with salera-

tus. Still better crusts are made of sour cream, sweetened with saleratus.

Mealy potatoes boiled in salt water and mixed with the same quantity

of flour, and wet with sour milk sweetened with saleratus, make a goodcrust.

Good light bread rolled thin makes a good crust for pan-dowdy, or pan-

pie, and also for the upper crust of fruit-pies, to be made without bot-

tom crusts.

Pie-Crnst made with Butter.—Very plain paste is made by taking

a, quarter of a pound of butter fcr every pound of flour. Still richer,

allows three quarters of a pound of butter to a pound of flour.

Directions for making rich Pie-Crust.—Take a quarter of the but-

ter to be used, rub it thoroughly into the flour, and wet it with cold

water to u. stifi' paste.

Next dredge the board thick with flour, cut up the remainder of the

butter into thin slices, lay them upon the flour, dredge flour over thick,

and then roll out the butter into thin sheets, and lay it aside.

Then roll out the paste thin, cover it with a sheet of this rolled

butter; dredge on more flour, fold it up and roll it out, and repeat

the process till all the butter is used up.

Paste should be made as quick and as cold as possible. Some use

a marble table in order to keep it cold. Boll from you every time.

XVI.

CAKE.

The multiplication of recipes for cakes, pies, puddings, and

desserts is troublesome and needless, inasmuch as a little gene-

ralization will reduce, them to a comparatively small compass,

and yet afford a large variety.

Cake is of three classes, as raised either by eggs or by

yeast or by powders ; and different proportions of flour, sugar,

shortening, and wetting make the variety, as appears in what

follows.

GBNBEAL DIRECTIONS.

Sift flour, roll sugar, sift spices, and prepare fruit before-

hand. Break eggs that are to be whipped, one at a time, in a

cup, and let none of the yelk go in. Have them cold, and

you will get on faster.

Excepting dough-cake, never use the hand in making cake,

but a wooden spoon, ^nd in an earthen vessel.

The goodness of cake depends greatly on baking. If too hot

at bottom, set-the pan on a brick; if too hot at top, cover jwith

paper. If top-crust is formed suddenly, it prevents what is

below from rising properly; and so, when the oven is very hot,

cover with paper.

When fruit is used, sprinkle the fruit with a little flour to

keep it from sinking when baking. Some put fruit in in lay-

ers, one in the middle and another near the top, as this spreads

it evenly. Put in the flour just before baking.

When using whites beaten to a froth separately, put in the

last thing, so that the bubbles of air which make the lightness

may be retained more perfectly. Bake as soon as the cake is

ready.

CAKE. 505

Water is as good as milk for most cakes as well as for bread

;

a mixture of new and stale milk injures the cake.Streaks in cake are made either by imperfect mixing, or un-

equal baking, or by sudden decrease of heat before the cake is

done. Try when cake is done, by inserting a splinter or straw

;

if it comes out clean, the cake is done.

The best way to keep cake is in a tin box or stone jar.

Do not wrap cake or bread in a cloth.

In baking, move cake gently if you change its place, or it

will fall in streaks. Cake is more nicely baked when the panis lined with oiled paper, especially in old pans, which often

give a bad taste to the bottom and sides of the cake.

CAKE RAISED WITH POWDERS.

Although it is unhealthful to use powders in bread for daily

food, the small quantity used for cake will do no harm.The cake most easily made is raised with soda and cream

tartar or other baking powders, and many varieties can bemade by the following recipes

:

One, Two, Three> Tour Cake.—Take one cup of butter, (half a cupis better,) two cups of sugar, three cups of flour, and four eggs. Mix but-

ter, sugar, and yelks. Then add the flour very thoroughly, and lastly the

whites in a stiff froth. Bake inlmediately, and the cake will be light,

with nothing added. But it is equally light to omit the eggs and worktwo tea^spoonfuls of cream tartar into the flour, and then mix well first

the butter and sugar, and then the flour. When ready to bake, mix very

thoroughly and quickly a tea-spoonful of soda, or a bit of sal volatile dis-

solved in a cup of warm (not hot) water. This makes two loaves. The

following are varieties made by this recipe, using raising either with eggs

or powders

:

Chocolate-Cake.—Bake the above in thin layers, only a little thicker

than carpeting. When nearly cool, spread ver the cake a paste made of

equal parts of scraped chocolate and sugar wet with water. Place the

cake in layers one over another, frost the top, and then cut in oblong

pieces for the cake-basket.

Jelly-Cake.—Proceed as above, only using jelly instead of chocolate.

Orang'e-Cake.—Proceed as for jelly cake, having flavored the cake

when making with a little grated orange-peel. The oranges must be

peeled, chopped fine, and sweetened.

506,THJS aOUSEKEEPER^S MANUAL.

Almoudand Cocoa-nut-Cake.—Blancli tliree ounces of almonds, (that

is, pour on boiling watet and take off the skins.) Chop or pound themwith an equal quantity of sugar, make a thin paste with water, and use

this instead of the jelly. Cocoa-nut, chopped fine, can be used instead of

almonds. Strawier'nes, Peaches, Oranberries, and Quinces, and any other

fruit, mashed or cooked, can be used in place of the jelly, being first

sweetened.

This cake can be made richer by adding spices and fruit before baking.

Those who have cream can use it in place of butter. Chopped almonds,

citron, or cocoa-nut may be put in the cake for baking, making still

another variety.

CAKE RAISED WITH EGGS.

Pountl-Cake, (very rich.)—One pound of flour, one pound of sugar, half

a pound of batter, nine eggs, a glass of brandy, one nutmeg, one tea-

spoonful of pounded cinnamon. Mix half the flour with the butter,

brandy, and spice; add the yelks of eggs beaten well into the sugar.

Beat the whites to a stiff froth, and add them in alternate spoonfuls with

the rest of the flour ; then beat a long time, and bake as soon as done.

Plain Cake raised with Eggs.—Take a pound or quart of flour, half

as much sugar, half, as much butter as sugar, four or five eggs, one nut-

meg, and a tea-spoonful of cinnamon. Mix well the sugar, butter, yelks,

and spice ; then the flour, and last the whites as stiff froth.

These two cakes are varied by adding citron, fruit, or other spices,

making them more or less rich.

Frult-Cake.—This to be made either like pound-cake, with fruit added

;

or like plain cake, raised with eggs or yeast, adding fruit.

Walnut-meats or Almonds may be chopped and put in the cake instead

of fruit, making another variety.

Huckleberry-Cake.—One quart of huckleberries, three cups of sugar,

three cups of flour, six eggs, one cup of sweet milk, and one tea-spoonful

of soda dissolved in a little "hot water. Cream the butter and sugar, andadd the beaten yelks. Then add the milk, flour, and two grated nutmegs.

Then add the whites, whipped to a stiff froth, and the berries, gently, so

as not to mash them. An excellent cake.

Currants and other berries may be used in the same way. If very sour,

add more sugar. If doubtful of raising it enough, add a tea-spoonful of

soda ; or, more surely, a bit of sal volatile the size of a hickory-nut.

Gold and Silver Cake.—This makes a pretty variety when cut andplaced together in a cake-dish. For each, take one cup of sugar, (for thesilver, white ; and for the gold, brown,) half a cup of butter, half a cup of

milk, two cups of flour, one tea-spoonful of cream tartar, and half as much

CAKE. 501

soda. For the one, use the yelk of three eggs ; and the white, as stiff

froth, for the other. Mix the cream tartar very thoroughly in the flour,

and put in the soda last. Bake immediately. This makes one loaf of

each kind, in flat pans, and is to be frosted. If more is wanted, doublethe quantity of each ingredient.

Rich Sponge-Cake.—Take twelve eggs, and the weight of ten in

sugar, and six in flour.

Beat the sugar into the yelks, add the juice and grated peel of onelemon, then the flour, and then the whites cut to a stiff froth, and bake as

soon as possible. Bake in hrick-shaped pans, and line them with buttered

paper.,

Plain Sponge-Cake, (easily made.)—Mix thoroughly two cups of sifted

flour and two cups of white sugar with one tea-spoonful of cream tartar.

Beat four eggs to a froth, not separating the whites, and add some grated

lemon-peel, or nutmeg, or rose-water. Just before baking, add half a tea-

spoonful of soda dissolved in three great-spoonfuls of warm water. Beat

quick, and set in the oven immediately.

GrSTGEEBRBAD, FEIED CAKES, COOKIES, AND OTHER CAKES.

Annt Esther's Gingerbread.—Take half a pint of molasses, a small

cup of soft butter, a gill and a half of water, a heaping tea-spoonful of

soda dissolved in a table-spoonful of hot water, and one even table-spoon-

ful of strong ginger, or two if weak. Bub butter and ginger into the flour,

add the water, soda, and molasses, and while doing it, put in two table-

spoonfuls of vinegar. Boll it in cards an inch thick, and bake half an

hour in a quick oven.

Sponge Gingerbread.—Add to the above two beaten eggs, and water

to make it thin as pound-cake, and bake as soon as well mixed.

Ginger-Snaps and Seed-Cookies.—One cup of butter, two cups of

sugar or molasses, one cup of water, one table-spoonful of ginger, one

heaping tea-spoonful of cinnamon and one of cloves, one tea-spoonful of

soda dissolved In a small cup of hot water. Mix and add flour for a stiff

dough, roll and cut in small round cakes Omit the spices, and put in

four or five table-spoonfuls of caraway seeds, and you have seed-cakes

Leave out all spice and seeds, and you have plain cookies.

Fried Cakes.—For doughnuts, use the recipe for Plain Sponge-Cake,

adding flour enough to roll. Or take Plain Cake raised with eggs, and

add flour enough to roll. Or take Dough-Cake, or Plain Loaf-Cake, and

thicken so as to roll. Roll about half an inch thick and cut into oblong

pieces. For crullers, take plain cake raised with eggs, and thicken stiff

with flour ; roll it thin, and cut into strips, and form twisted cakes. More

sugar and butter make it richer, but less healthful.


Have plenty of lard, or, better, strained teef-fat, quite hot ; try with a

small piece first, and, if right, there will he a bubbling. Turn two or

three times to cook all alike, break open one to try if done, and when

done, take up with a skimmer and drain well. If the fat is too hot, it will

brown too quick ; if not hot enough, the fat will soak into the cake. Re-

member that frying is the most unhealthful mode of cooking food, and

the one most likely to be done amiss.

CAKE RAISED WITH YEAST.

Plain Loaf-Cake.—Two pounds of dried and sifted flour, a- pint of

warm water in which is melted a quarter of a pound of butter, half a tea-

spoonful of salt, three eggs without beating, and three quarters of a pound

of sugar, well mixed ; and then add two nutmegs, two tea-spoonfuls of cin-

namon, and two gills of home-brewed or half as much distillery yeast.

When light, add two or three pounds of fruit, and let it stand half an

hour.

Rich Loaf-Cake is made like the above, only adding more butter and

sugar. The following are specimens of the diverse proportions : Four

pounds of flour, three of sugar, two of butter, a quart of water or milk,

ten unbeaten eggs, half a pint of wine, three nutmegs, three tea-spoonfuls

of cinnamon, and two cloves ; two gills of distillery yeast, or twice as

much home-brewed. This is what in New-England would be called

Election or Commencement-Cake. Two or three risings used to be prac-

ticed, but one is as good if the mixing is thorough.

Dough-Cake.—Three cups of raised dough, half a cup of butter, two

cups of sugar, two eggs^fruit and spice to the taste. When light, bake

in loaves. This can be made more or less sweet and shortened by lessen-

ing or increasing the quantity of dough. It must be mixed with the

hands.

Icing for Cake.—Put the whites of eggs into a dish, and for each egg •

use about a quarter of a pound of sugar. Beat the whites, slowly adding

the sugar. This is better than beating the whites first, and then adding

sugar. A little lemou-j uice or tartaric acid makes it whiter and better.

Spread the icing, after pouring it upon the centre, with a knife dipped in

water. If you can, dry in an open, suu;iy window. Otherwise, harden it

in the oven. It improves it by mixing, when adding sugar, some almonds

pounded to a thin paste.

XVII.

PEBSEEVBS AND JELLIES.

General Directions.

Gathee fruit wten it is dry.

Long boiling hardens the fruit.

Pour boiling water over the sieves used,,and wring out jelly-

bags in hot water the moment you are to use them.Do not squeeze while straining through jelly-bags.

Let the pots and jars containing sweetmeats just made, re-

main uncovered three days.

For permanent covering, lay brandy papers over the top,

cover them tight, and seal them ; or, what is best of all, soak

a split bladder and tie it tight over them. In drying, it will

shrink so as to be perfectly air-tight.

Keep them in a dry but not warm place.

A thick, leathery mold helps to preserve fruit, but whenmold appears in specks, the preserves must be scalded in a

warm oven, or the jars containing them are to be set into hot

water which must then boil till the preserves are scalded.

Always keep watch of preserves which are not sealed, espe-

cially in warm and damp weather. The only sure way to keep

them without risk or care is to make them with enough sugar

and seal them or tie bladder covers over.

The best kettle is iron lined with porcelain. If brass is used,

it must be bright, or acids will make a poison.

The chief art is to boil continuously, slowly, and gently,

and take up as soon as done ; too long boiling makes the

fruit hard and dark. Jellies will not harden well if the boil-

ing stops for some minutes. Try jellies with a spoon, and

as soon as they harden around the edge quickly, they are

510 TBE housekeeper's MANUAL.

done. In making, the sugar should be heated and not added

till the juice boils. '

Keep preserves in small glass jars, as frequent opening in-

jures them.

Canned Fruit.—Thia is far more economical than to preserve in sugar.

Some can be canned without any sugar, and very nice sugar demands

only one fourth sugar to three fourths fruit. The best cans are glass

with metal tops. Those of Wilcox are the best known to the author.

The W. L. Imlay's of Philadelphia are recommended as best of any.

Directions.—Set the jars in a large boiler, and then fill it with cold

water and heat to boiling. Having filled the jars to within an inch of

the top with alternate layers of fruit and sugar, (in proportion of one half

or one fourth of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit, according as it is

more or less acid,) set them in cold water. As soon as the fruit has risen

to the top of the jar, screw on the cover and take from the water.

Peaches and pears may be canned without sugar.

To clarify Syrup for Sweetmeats'—^For each pound of sugar allow

half a pint of water. For every three pounds of sugar allow the white of

one egg. Mix when cold, boil a few minutes, and skim it. Let it stand

ten minutes and skim it again, then strain it.

Brandy Peaclies.—Prick the peaches with a needle, put them into a

kettle with cold water, heat the water, scald them until suflBcieritly soft

to be penetrated with a straw. Take half a pound of sugar to every

pound of peaches ; make the syrup with the sugar, and while it is a

little warm mix two thirds as much of white brandy with it, put the

fruit into jars and pour the syrup over it. The late white clingstones are

the best to use.

Peaches, (not very rich.)—To six pounds of fruit put five of sugar.

Make the syrup. Boil the fruit in the syrup till it is clear. If the fruit '

is ripe, half an hour will cook it sufficiently.

Peaches, (very elegant.)—First take out the stones, then pare them.

To every pound of peaches allow one third of a pound of sugar. Makea thin syrup, boil the peaches in the syrup till tender, but not till they

break. Put them into a bowl and pour the syrup over them. Put themin a dry, cool place and let them stand two days. Then make a new, rich

syrup, allowing three quarters of a pound of sugar to one of fruit. Drain

the peaches from the first syrup, and boil them until they are clear in thf)

last syrup. The first syrup must not be added, but may be used for any

other purpose you please, as it is somewhat bitter. The large whitt

clingstones are the best.

To preserve Quinces wliole.—Select the largest and fairest quincesj

PRESERVES AND JELLIES. ' 511

(as the poorer ones will answer for jelly.) Take out the cores and pare

them. Boil the quinces in water till tender. Take them out separately

on a platter. To each pound of quince allow a pound of sugar. Makethe syrup, then boil the quinces in the syrup until clear.

Quince Jelly.—Rub the quinces with a cloth until perfectly smooth.

Remove the cores, cut them into smMl pieces, pack them tight in your

kettle, pour cold water on them until it is on a level with the fruit, butnot to cover it ; boil till very soft, but not till they break. Dip off

all the liquor you can, then put the fruit into a sieve and press it, andd rain off' all the remaining liquor. Then to a pint of the liquor add a poundof sugar and boil it fifteen minutes Pour it, as soon as cool, into small

jars or tumblers. Let it stand in the sun a few days, till it begins to dry

on the top. It will continue to harden after it is put up.

CalPs Foot Jelly.—To four nicely cleaned calf's feet put four quarts

of water ; let it simmer gently till reduced to two quarts, then strain It

and let it stand all night. Then take 6ff all the fat and sediment, melt

it, add the j uice, and put in the peel of three lemons and a pint of wine,

the whites of four eggs, three sticks of cinnamon, and sugar to your

taste. Boil ten minutes, then skim out the spice and lemon-peel and

strain it.

The American gelatine, now very common, makes as good jelly, with

far less trouble ; and in using it, you only need to dissolve it in hot water,

and then sweeten and flavor it. •

To preserve Apples.—Take only tart and well-flavored apples;peel

and take out the cores without dividing them, and then parboil them.

Make the syrup with the apple water, allowing three quarters of a pound

of white sugar to every pound of apples, and boil some lemon-peel and

juice in the syrup. Pout the syrup, while boiling, upon the apples, turn

them gently while cooking, and only let the syrup simmer, as hard boil-

ing breaks the fruit. Take it out when the apple is tender through. At

the end of a week, boil them once more in the syrup.

Pears.—Take out the cores, cut off the stems, and pare them. Boil the

pears in water till they are tender. Watch them that they do not break.

Lay them separately on a platter as you take them out. To each pound

of fruit take a pound of sugar. Make the syrup, and boil the fruit in the

syrup till clear.

Pineapples, (very fine.)—Pare and grate the pineapple. Take an equal

quantity of fruit and sugar. Boil them slowly in a sauce-pan for half an

hour.

Purple Plums, No. 1.—Make a rich syrup. BoU the plums in the

syrup very gently till they begin to crack open. Then take them from

512 THE EOUSEKEEPBR'S MANUAL.

tlie syrup into a jar, and pour the syrup over them. Let them stand a

few days, and then boil them a second time very gently.

Purple Plnms, No. 2.—Take an equal -weight of fruit and nice brown

sugar. Take a clean stone jar, put in a layer of fruit and a layer of sugar

tiU all is in. Cover them tightly with dough, or other tight cover, and

put them in a brick oven after you have baked in it. If you bake in the

morning, put the plums in the oven at evening, and let them remain till

the next morning. When you bake again, set them in the oven as be-

fore. Uncover them and stir them carefully with a spoon, and so as not

to break them. Set them in the oven thus tlie third time, aud they will

be sufficiently cooked.

White or Green Plums.—Put each one into boiling water and rub oflF

the skin. Allow a pound of fruit to a pound of sugar. Make a syrup of

sugar and water. Boil the fruit in the syrup until clear—about twenty

minutes. Let the syrup be cold before you pour it over the fruit. Theycan be preserved without taking off the skins by pricking' them. Someof the kernels of the stones boiled in give a pleasant flavor.

Citron Melons.—Two fresh lemons to a pound of melon. Let the

sugar be equal in weight to the lemon and melon. Take out the pulp of

the melon and cut it in thin slices, and boil it in fair water tiU tender.

Take it out and boil the lemon in the same water about twenty minutes.

Take out the lemon, add the sugar, and, if necessary, a little more water.

Let it boil. When clear, add the melon aud let it boil a few minutes.

StrawbeiTies.—Look over them with care. Weigh a pound of sugarto each pound of fruit. Put a layer of fruit on the bottom of the preserv-

ing-kettle, then a layer of sugar, and so on till all is in the pan. Boil

them .about fifteen minutes. Put them in bottles, hot, and seal them.Then put them in a box aud fill it in with dry sand. The flavor of thefruit is preserved more perfectly by simply packing the fruit and sugarin alternate layers, and sealing the jar, without cooking ; but the pre-

serves do not look so well.

Blackberry Jam.—Allow three quarters of a pound of brown sugar to

a pound of fruit. Boil the fruit half an hour, then add the suo-ar and boil

all together ten minutes.

To preserve Currants to eat mth Meat.—Strip them from the stem.Boil them an hour, and then to a pound of the fruit add a pound of brownsugar. Boil all together fifteen or twenty minutes.

Cherries.—Take out the stones. To a pound of fruit allow a pound ofsugar. Put a layer of fruit on the bottom of the preserving-kettle, thena layer of sugar, and continue thus till all are put in. Boil till clear.

Put them in bottles hot and seal them. Keep them in dry sand.

PRESERVES AND JELLIES. 513

CuiTants.—Strip them from the stems. Allow a pound of sugar to apquud of currants. Boil them together ten minutes. Take them fromthesyrup and let the syrup boil twenty minutes, and pour it on the fruit.Put them in small jars or tumblers, and let them stand in the sun a fewdays.

Raspberry Jam, Ni. 1.—Allow a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit.

Press them with a spoon in an earthen dish. Add the sugar, and boil alltogether fifteen minutes.

Raspberry Jam, No. 2.—Allow a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit.

Boil the fruit half an hour or till the seeds are soft. Strain one quarterof the fruit and throw away the seeds. Add the sugar and boil thewhole ten minutes. A little currant-juice gives it a pleasant flavor, andwhen that is used, an equal quantity of sugar must be added.

Currant Jelly.—Pick over the currants with care. Put them in a stone

jar, and set it into a kettle of boiling water. Let it boil till the fruit is

very soft. Strain it through a sieve. Then run the juice through ajelly-bag. Pat a pound of sugar to a pint of juice, and boil it together

five minutes. . Set it u the sun a few days. If it stops boiling, it is less

likely to turn to je

Qnince Marmalade.—Rub the quinces with a cloth, cut them in quar-

ters. Put them on the fire with a little water, and stew them till they

are sufiiciently tender to rub them through a sieve. When strained, put

a pound of sugar to a pound of the pulp. Set it on the fire, and let it

cook slowly. To ascertain when it is done, take out a little and let it get

cold, and if it cuts smoothly, it is done.

Crab-apple marmalade is made in the same way.

Crab-apple jelly is made like quince jelly.

Most other fruits are preserved so much like the preceding that it is

needless to give any more particular directions than to say that a pound

of sugar to a pound of fruit is the general rule for all preserves that are

to be kept through warm weather and a long time.

Pi-eserred Watermelon Rinds*—This a fine article to keep well with-

out trouble for a long time. Peel the melon, and boil it in just enough

water to cover it till it is soft, trying with a fork. (If you wish it green,

put green vine-leaves above and Below each layer, and scatter powdered

alum, less than half a tea-spoonful to each pound.)

Allow a pound of sugar to each pound of rind, and clarify it as directed

previously.

Simmer the rinds two hours in this syrup, and flavor it with lemon-

peel grated and tied in a bag. Then put the melon in a tureen, and boil

the syrup till it looks thick, and pour it over. Next day, give the syrup


another boiling, and put the juice of one lemon to eacn quart of syrup.

Take care not to make it bitter by too much of the peel.

Citrons are preserved in the same manner. Both these keep through

hot weather with very little care in sealing and Keeping.

Preserved Pumpkin.—Cm a thick yellow pumpkin, peeled, into strips

two inches wide and iive or six long.

Take a pound of wliite sugar for each pound of fruit, and scatter it over

the fruit, and pour on two wine-glasses of lemon-juice for each pound of

pumpkin.

Next day, put the parings of one or two lemons with the fruit and

sugar, and boil the whole three quarters of an hour, or long enough to

make it tender and clear without breaking. Lay the pumpkin to cool,

strain the syrup, and then pour it on to the pumpkin.If there is too much lemon-peel, it will be bitter.

xvm.

DBSSEETS AND EVENING PAETIES.

Ice-Cream.—One quart of milk. One and a half table-spoonfuls ofarrowroot. The grated peel of two lemons. One quart of thick cream.Wet the arrow-root with a little cold milk, and add it to the quart of

milk when boiling hot : sweeten it very sweet with white sugar, putin the grated lemon-peel, boil the whole, and strain it into the quart of

cream. When partly frozen, add the juice of the two lemons. Twicethis quantity is enough for thirty-five persons. Find the quantity ofsugar tliat suits you by measure, and then you can use this every time,

without tasting. Some add whites of eggs ; others think it just as goodwithout. It must be made very sweet, as it loses much by freezing.

If you have no apparatus for freezing, (which is almost indispensable,)

put the cream- into a tin pail with a very tight cover, mix equal quanti-

ties of snow and blown salt, (not the coarse salt,) or of pounded ice andsalt, in a tub, and put it as high as the pail, <yr freezer ; turn the pail or

freezer half round and back agaiu with one hand, for half an hour, or

longer, if you want it very nice. Three quarters of a hour steadily will

make it good enough. While doing this, stop four or five times, and mixthe frozen part with the rest, the last time very thoroughly, and then the

lemon-j nice must be put in. Then cover the freezer tight with snow and

Bait till it is wanted, The mixture must be perfectly cool before being

put in the freezer. Renew the snow and salt while shaking, so as to

have it kept tight to the sides of the freezer. A hole in the tub holding

the freezing mixture, to let off the water, is a great advantage. In a tin

pail it would take much longer to freeze than in the freezer, probably

nearly twice as long. A long stick, like a coflfee-stick, should be used in

scraping the ice from the sides. Iron spoons will be affected by the

lemon-juice, and give a bad taste.

In taking it out for use, fivsi wipe off every particle of the freezing

mixture dry, then with a knife loosen the sides, then invert the freezer

upon the dish in which the ice is to be served, and apply two towels

wrung out of hot water to the bottom part, and the whole will slide out in

the shape of a cylinder. Freezers are now sold quite cheap, and such

as freeze in a short time.

Strawberry Ice-Cream.—Rub a pint of ripe strawberries through a

516 THE housekeeper's MANUAL.'

sieve, add a pint of cream, and four ounces of powdered sugar, and freeze

it. Other fruits may be used thus.

Ice-Cream without Cream.—A vanilla bean or a lemon rind is first

boiled in a quart of milk. Take out the bean or peel, and add the yelks

of four eggs, beaten well. Heat it scalding hot, but do not boU it, stirring

in white sugar till very sweet. When cold, freeze it.

Fruit Ice-Cream.—Make rich boiled custard, and mash into it the soft

ripe fruit, or the grated or cooked hard fruit, or grated pine-apples. Rub

all through a sieve, sweeten it very sweet, and freeze it. Quince, apple,

pear, peach, strawberry, and raspberry are all very good for this purpose.

A Cream for stewed Fruit.—Boil two or three peach leaves, or a

vanilla bean, in a quart of cream, or milk, till flavored. Strain and

sweeten it, mix it with the yelks of four eggs, well beaten ; then, while

heating it, add the whites cut to a froth. When it thickens, take it up.

When cool, pour it oyer the fruit or preserves.

Currant, Raspberry, or Strawberry Wliisk.—Put three gills of the

juice of the fruit to ten ounces of crushed sugar, add the juice of a lemon,

and a pint and a half of cream. Whisk it till quite thick, and serve it in

jolly-glasses or a glass dish.

Lemonade Ice, and other Ices.—To a quart of lemonade, add the

whites of six eggs, cut to a froth, and freeze it. The juices of any fruit,

sweetened and watered, may be prepared in the same way, and are very

fine.

Charlotte Russe.—One ounce of gelatine simmered in half a pint of

milk or water, four ounces of sugar beat into the yelks of four eggs, and

added to the gelatine when dissolved. Then add a pint of cream or new

milk. Lastly, add the whites beat to a stiflF froth, and beat all together.

Line a mold with slices of sponge-cake and set it on ice, and when the

cream is a little thickened, fill the mould ; let it stand five or six hours,

and then turn it into a dish.

Flummery.—Cut sponge-cake into thin slices, 'and line a deep dish.

Make it moist with white wine ; make a rich custard, using only the

yelks of the eggs. When cool, turn it into the dish, and cut the whites

to a stiff froth, and put on the top.

Chicken Salad.—Cut the white meat of chickens into small bits the

size of peas. Chop the white parts of celery nearly as small.

Prepare a dressing thus : rub the yelks of hard-boiled eggs smooth, to

each yelk put half a tea-spoonful of liquid mustard, the same quantity of

salt, a table-spoonful of oil mixed in very slowly and thoroughly, and half

DESSERTS AND EVENING PARTIES. 517

• a Wine-glass of vinegar. Mix the chicken and celery in a large bowland pour over this dressing.

'

The dressing must not be put on tUl just before it is used. Bread andbutter and crackers are served with it.

Wine Jelly.—Two ounces of American isinglass or gelatine. Onequart of boiling water. A pint and a half of white wine. The whites ofthree eggs.

Soak the gelatine in cold water half an hour. Then take it from thewater, and pour on the quart of boiling water. When cooled, add thegrated rind of one lemon, and the juice of two, and a pound and a halfof loaf-sugar. Then beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, and stirthem in, and let the whole boil till the egg is well mixed, but do not stir

while it boils. Strain through a jelly.bag, and then add the wine.In cold weather, a pint more of water may be added. This jelly can

be colored by beet-juice, saffron, or indigo, for fancy dishes.

An Apple Lemon Puddlug.—Six spoonfuls of grated, or of cooked andstrained, apple. Three lemons, pulp, rind, and juice, all grated. Half apound of melted butter. Sugar to the taste. Seven eggs well beaten.Mix, and bake with or without paste. It can be made still plainer by

using nine spoonfuls of apple, one lemon, two thirds of a cup full of butter, and three eggs.

Wheat Flour Blanc>Mang:e.—Wet up six table-spoonfuls of flour to athin paste with cold milk, and stir it iato a pint of boiling milk. Flavorwith lemon-peel or peach-leaves boiled in the milk. Add a pinch of

salt, cool it in a, mold, and eat with sweetened cream and sweetmeats.

Orange Marmalade.—Take two lemons and a dozen oranges; grate

the yellow rinds of all the oranges but five, and set it aside. Make a clear

syrup of an equal weight of sugar. Clear the oranges of rind and seeds,

put them with the grated rinds into the syrup, aiid boil about twenty

minutes till it is a transparent mass.

A simple Lemon Jelly, (easily made.)—One ounce of gelatine. Apound and a half of loat-sugar. Three lemons, pulp, skin, and juice,

grated.

Pour a quart of boiling water upon the isinglass, add the rest, mix and

strain it, then add a glass of wine, and pour it to cool in some regular

form. If the lemons are not fresh, add a little cream of tartar or tartaric

acid.

Cranberry.—Pour boiling water on them, and then you can easily

separate the good and the bad. Boil them in a very little water till soft

then sweeten to your taste. If you wish a jelly, take a portion and strain

t'r rough a fine sieve.

518 THE BOUSBKEEPER'S MANUAL.

Apple Ice, (very fine.)—Take finely-flavored apples, grate tliem fine,

and then make tliem very sweet, and freeze them. It is very delicious.

Pears, peaches, or quinces also are nice, either grated fine or stewed and

run through a sieve, then sweetened very sweet, and frozen. The flavor

is much better preserved when grated than when cooked.

Whip 8yllabab.—One pint of cream. Sifted white sugar to your

taste. Half a tumbler of white wine. The grated rind and j nice of one

lemon. Beat all to a stiff froth,

Apple Snow.—Put six very tart apples in cold water over a slow flre.

When soft, take away the skins and cores, and mix in a pint of sifted

white sugar ; beat the whites of six eggs to a stifl" froth, and then add

them to the apples and sugar. Put it in a dessert-dish and ornament

with myrtle and box.

Iced Fruit.—Take fine bunches of currants on the stalk, dip them in

well-beaten whites of eggs, lay them on a sieve and sift white sugar over

them, and set them in a warm place to dry.

Ornamental Froth.—The whites of four eggs in a stiff froth, put into

the syrup of preserved raspberries or strawberries, beaten well together,

and turned over ice-cream or blanc-mange. Make white froth to com-

bine with the colored in fanciful ways. It can be put on the top of boil-

ing milk, and hardened to keep Its form.

To clarify Isinglass.—^Dissolve an ounce of isinglass in a cup of boil-

ing water, take off the scum, and drain through a coarse cloth. Jellies,

candies, and blanc-mange should be done in brass and stirred with silver.

Blanc-Mange.—Two and a half sheets of gelatine broken into one

quart of milk;put in a warm place and stir till it dissolves. An ounce and

a half of clarified isinglass stirred into the milk. Sugar to your taste.

A tea-spoonful of fine salt. Flavor with lemon, or orange, or rose-water.

Let it boil, stirring it well, then strain it into molds.

Three ounces of almonds pounded to a paste and added while boiling

is an improvement. Or filberts or hickory-nuts can be skinned and used

thus. It can be flavored by boiling in it a vanilla bean or a stick of cin-

namon. (Save the bean to use again.)

Apple Jelly.—Boil tart peeled apples in a little water till glutinous

;

strain out the juice, and put a pound of white sugar to a pint of the juice.

Ilavor to your taste, boil till a good jelly, and then put it into molds.

Orange Jelly.—The juice of nine oranges and three lemons. Thegrated rind of one lemon, and one orange, pared thin. Two quarts of

water, and four ounces of gelatine broken up and boiled in it to a jelly.

Add the above, and sweeten to your taste. Then add the whites of eight

DUSSEMTS AND EVENING PARTIES. 519

eggs, well beaten to u. stiff froth, and boil ten minutes ; strain and putmto molds, first dipped in cold water. When perfectly cold, dip themold in warm water, and turn on to a glass dish.

Floating Island.—Beat the yelks of six eggs with the juice, of fourlemons, sweeten it to your taste, and stir it into a quart of boiling milktill it thickens, then pour it into a dish. Whip the whites of the eggs toa stifffroth, and put it on the top of the cream.

A Dish of Snow.—Grate the white part of cocoa-nut, put it in a glassdish and serve with oranges sliced and sugared, or with currant or cran-berry jellies.

To clarify Sugar.—Take four pounds of sugar, and break it up.Whisk the white of an egg, and put it -with a tumblerful of water into apreserving-pan, and add water gradually till you have two quarts,stirring well. When there is a good frothing, throw in the sugar, boilmoderately, and skim it. If the sugar rises to run over, throw in a little

cold water, and then skim it, as it is then still. Kepeat this, and whenno more scum rises, strain the sugar for use.

Candied Frnits.—Preserve the fruit, then dip it in sugar boiled tocandy thickness, and then dry it Grapes and some other fruits may bedipped in uncooked, and then dried, and they are fine.

Another Way.—Take it from the syrup, when preserved, dip it in

powdered sugar, and set it on a sieve in an oven to dry.

To make an Ornamental Pyramid for a Table.—Boil loaf-sugar as

' for candy, and rub it over a stiff form made for the purpose, of stiff paper

or pasteboard, which must be well buttered. Set it on a table, and begin

at the bottom, and stick on to this frame with the sugar, a row of maca-

roons, kisses, or other ornamental articles, and continue till the whole is

covered. When cold, draw out the pasteboard form, and set the pyra-

mid in the centre of the table with a small bit of wax candle burning

with it, and it looks very beautifully.

XIX.

DRINKS AKD ARTICLES FOR THE SICK ATn> TOUN'& CHILDREN.

Drinks made of tKe juice of fruits and -water are good for

all who are in health. Various preparations of cocoa-nuts are

so also. Tea is often made or adulterated with unhealthful

articles. Coffee is usually drank so strong as to injure children

and grown persons of delicate constitution. All alcoholic

drinks are dangerous, because they are so generally mixed with

harmful matter, and because they so often lead to excess, and

then to ruin. The common-sense maxim is, when there is dan-

ger, choose the safest course. The Christian maxim is, " Wethat are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and'

not to please ourselves."

Obedience to these two maxims would save thousands of

young children and delicate persons from following the dan-

gerous example of those " that are strong."

To make Tea,—The safest tea is the black, as less stimulating than

green ; both excite the brain and nerves when strong. The chief

direction is to have water boiling hot. First soak the tea in a very little

hot water, and then add boiling water.

To make Coffee.—Roast it slowly in a tight vessel, and so it can be

stirred often. To roast all equally a dark brown and have none burnt, is

the main thing. Keep it in a tight box, or, better, grind it fresh whenused. Clear it by putting into it, when making, a fresh egg-shell crush-

ed, or the white of an egg, or a small bit of fish-skin. Some filter, and

some boil ; and there are coiSfee-pots made for each method, and some

that require nothing put in to clear the coffee. The aroma is retained

just in proportion as the coffee is confined, both before making and also

while making.

Fish-skin for Coffee.—Take it from codfish before cooking ; have it

nice and dry. Cut in inch squares, and take one for two quarts of coffee.

DRINKS FOR THE SICK AND YOUNQ. 521

Cocoa.—The cracked is best. Put two table spoonfuls of it into tliree

pints of cold water. Boil an hour for first use, save tbe remnants andboil it again, as it is very strong. Do ibis several times. For groundcocoa use two table-spoonfuls to a quart, and boil half an bour. Boil tbe

milk by itself and add it liberally wlien taken up. For tbe shells of

cocoa, use a heaping tea-cupful for a quart of water. Put tbenf in over

night and boil a long time.

Cream for Coffee and Tea.—Heat new milk and let it stand till cool

and all tbe cream rises ; this is tbe best way for common use. To every

pint of this add a pound and a quarter of loaf-sugar, and it will keep

good a month or more, if corked tight in glass.

Chocolate.—Put three table-spoonfuls when scraped to each pint, boil

half an hour, and add boiled milk when used.

Delicious Milk-Lemonade.—Half a pint of sherry wine and as muchlemon-j uice, six ounces loaf-sugar, and » pint of water poured in whenboiling. Add not quite a pint of cold milk, and strain tbe whole.

Strawberry and Raspberry Vinegar.—Mix four pounds of the fruit

with three quarts of cider or wine vinegar, and let them stand three

days. Drain the vinegar through a jelly-bag and add four more pounds

of fruit, ftnd in three days do the same. Then strain out tbe vinegar for

summer drinks, effervescing with soda or only with water.

White Tea, and Boys' Coffee, for Children.—Children never love tea

and coffee till they are trained to it. They always like these drinks.

Put two tea/-spoonful3 of sugar to half a cup of hot water, and add as

much good milk. Or crumb toast or dry bread into a bowl with plenty

of sugar, and add half milk to half boiling w^ter.

Dangerous Use of Milk.—Milk is not only drink, but rich food. It

therefore should not be used as drink with other food, as is water or tea

and coffee. Persons often cause bilious difficulties by using milk in addi-

tion to ordinary food as tbe chief drink. It is a well-established fact that

some grown persons as well as young children can not drink milk, and

in some cases can not eat bread wet with milk without trouble from it.

Simple Drinks.—Pour boiling water on mashed cranberries, or grated

apples, or tamarinds, or mashed currants or ra|Spberries ;pour offthe water,

sweeten, and in summer cool with ice.

Pour boiling water on to bread toasted quite brown, or on to pounded

parched corn, boil a minute, strain, and add sugar and cream, or milk.

Simple Wine Whey.—Mix equal quantities of milk and boiling water,

add wine and sweeten.


Toast and Cider.—Take one third brisk cider and two thirds cold

water, sweeten it, crumb in toasted bread, and grate on a little nutmeg.

Acid jelly will do when cider is not at hand.

Panada.—Toast two or three crackers, pour on boiling water and let it

simmer two or three minutes, add a well-beaten egg, sweeten and flavor

with nutmeg.

Water Gruel.—Scald half a tumblerful of fresh ground corn-meal, add

a table-spoonful of flour made into a paste, boil twenty minutes or more,

and add salt, sugar, and nutmeg. Oat-meal gruel is excellent made thus.

Beef-Tea.—^Pepper and salt spme good beef cut into small pieces, pour

on boiling water and steep half an hour. A better way is to put the

meat thus prepared into a bottle kept in boiling water for four or five

hours.

Tomato Syrnp.—^Put a pound of sugar to a quart of juice, bottle it and

use for a beverage with water.

Sassafras Jelly.—Soak the pith of sassafras till a jelly, and add a

little sugar.

Egg Tea, Egg Coffee, and Egg Milk.—Beat the yelk of an egg in

some sugar and a little salt ; add either cold tea or coffee or milk. Then

beat the whites to a stiff froth and add. Flavor the milk with wine.

Some do not like the taste of raw egg, and so the other articles may first

be made boiling-hot before the white is put in.

Oat-Meal Gruel.—Four table-spoonfuls of grits, (unbolted oat-meal,) a

pinch of salt and a pint of boiling water. Skim, sweeten, and flavor. Or

make a thin batter of fine oat-meal, and pour into boiling water ; then

Sweeten and flavor it.

Pearl Barley-Water.—^Boil two and a half ounces of pearl barley ten

minutes in half a pint of water, strain it, add a quart of boiling water,

boil it down to half the quantity, strain, sweeten, and flavor with sliced

lemon or nutmeg.

Cream Tartar Beverage.—Put two even tea-spoonfuls cream tartar,

to a pint of boiling water, sweeten and flavor with lemon-peel.

Rennet Whey, (good for a weak stomach after severe illness.)—Soak

rennet two inches square one hour, add half a' gill of water and a pinch

of salt ; then pour it into a pint of warm (not hot) milk. Let it stand

half an hour, then cut it, and after an hour drain off the liquid. Let it

stand awliile and drain off more whey.

Eefreshing Drink for a Fever.—Mix sprigs of sage, balm, and sorrel

DRINKS FOR THE SICK AND TOUNB. 523

with, half a sliced lemon, skin on. Pour on boiling water, sweeten and

cork it.

Food, etc., for an Infant.—Nothing is so good as cow's milk diluted

and made only as sweet as mother's milk. Add less water as the infant

grows older. Use milk from the same cow, as mixed milk is not so

good. If the child's bowels are too loose, wait a little ; if this continues,

use boiled milk or rice-water. If constipated, a little magnesia may first

be tried, and if it fails, call a doctor.

No other food is so good for an infant, if it is a healthy one, as mUk.If it is not, the physician, and not an uneducated person, should direct.

\ Boiled rice and rice-water are highly recommended by physicians for

convalescents and children with summer complaints.

Rubbing the body with the hand of a strong and healthy person is a

great help in curing disease and restoring strength.

Many children as well as adults are sick from over-eating, causing

biliousness, disordered stomachs, and headaches. The safest and best

remedy is, totai abstinence from food for a day or more, giving the

clogged organs a chance to throw oflf the excess.

Constipation is best cured by loose dress, exercise in fresh air, sleeping

wa/rm with a window open, and relief from exercise, care, or labor, and

especially by a daily towel-bath, which in cold weather should be taken

by a fire, especially by aged or delicate persons.

American gelatine in cholera infantum is better than farinaceous food.

Keep a sick-room quiet, neat, orderly, and well ventilated. Change the

garment next the skin and the bed often. Ventilate a sick-room not by

large openings, but by a half-inch crack at the top of one window and

at the bottom of another. An open fire is a sure mode of ventilation.

XX.

THE PEOVIDING AND CAEE OP FAMTLT STORES.

The art of keeping a good table consists not in loading on

a variety at each meal, but rather in securing a successive

variety, a table neatly and tastefully set, and every thing that

is on it cooked in the best manner.

There are some families who provide an abundance of the

most expensive and choice articles, and spare no expense in

any respect, yet who have every thing cooked in such a miser-

able way, and a table set in so slovenly a manner, that a person

accustomed to a really good table can scarcely taste a morsel

with any enjoyment.

On the contrary, there are many tables where the closest

economy is practiced ; and yet the table-cloth is so white and

smooth, the dishes, silver, glass, and other table articles so

bright, and arranged with such propriety ; the bread so

light and sweet; the butter so beautiful, and every other ar-

ticle of food so well cooked, and so neatly and tastefully

served, that every thing seems good, and pleases both the eye

and the palate.

A habit of doing every thing in the best tnanner is of unspeak-

able importance to a housekeeper, and every woman ought to

f/im at it, however great the difficulties she may have to meet.

If a young housekeeper commences with a determination to try

to do every thing in* the best manner, and perseveres in the

effort, meeting all obstacles with patient cheerfulness, not only

the moral but the intellectual tone of her mind is elevated byilio attempt. Although she may meet many insuperable diffi-

culties, and may never reach the standard at which she aims,

the simple ejffort, persevered in, will have an elevating influence

on her character; while, at the same time, she actually will

PROVIDING AND CARE OF FAMILY STORES. 525

reach a point of excellence far ahead of those who, discouraged

by many obstacles, give up in despair, and resolve to make nomore eflforts, and let things go as they will. The grand dis-

tinction between a noble and an ignoble' mind is, that one will

control circumstances ; the other yields, and allows circum-

stances to control her.

It should be borne in mind that the constitution of man de-

mands a variety of food, and that it is just as cheap to keepon hand a good variety of materials in the store-closet, so as

to make a frequent change, as it is to buy one or two articles

at once, and live on them exclusively, till every person is

tired of them, and then buy two or three more of another

kind.

It is too frequently the case that families fall into a very

limited round of articles, and continue the same course from

one year to another, when there is a much greater variety

within reach of articles which are just as cheap and as easily

obtained, and yet remain unthought of and untouched.

A thrifty and generous provider will see that her store-closet

is furnished with such a variety of articles that successive

changes can be made, and for a good length of time. To aid

in this, a slight sketch of a well-provided store-closet will be

given, with a description of the manner in which each article

should be stored and kept, in order to avoid waste and injury.

To this will be added modes of securing a successive variety

within the reach of all in moderate circumstances. '

It is best to have a store-closet open from the kitchen, be-

cause the kitchen fire keeps the atmosphere dry, and this pre-

vents the articles stored from molding, and other injury from

dampness. Yet it must not be kept warm, as there are many

articles which are injured by warmth.

A cool and dry place is indispensable for a store-room, and

a small window over the door, and another opening out-doors,

give a great advantage, by securing coolness and circulation

of fresh aii-.

Flour should be kept in a barrel, with a flour-scoop to dip

it, a sieve to sift it, and a pan to hold the sifted flour, either in

the barrel or close at hand. The barrel should hg,ve a tight

526 TSJE aOUSEKEEFEI^S MANUAL.

cover to keep out mice and vermin. It is best to find, by trial,

a lot of first-rate flour, and then buy a year's supply. , But this

should not be done unless there are accommodations for keep-

ing it dry and cool, arid protecting it from vermin.

Unbolted flour should be stored in kegs or covered tubs,

and always be kept on hand as regularly as fine flour. It

should be bought only when freshly ground, and only in mo-

derate quantities, as it loses sweetness by keeping.

Indian meed should be purchased in small quantities, say

fifteen or twenty pounds at a time, and be kept in a covered

tub or keg. It is always improved by scalding. It must be

kept very cool and dry, and if occasionally stirred, is preserved

more surely from growing sour or musty. Fresh ground is

best.

Hye should be bought in small quantities, say forty or fifty

pounds at a time, and be kept in a keg or half-barrel, with a

cover.

Buckwheat, Rice, Hominy, and Ground Rice must be pur-

chased in small quantities, and kept in covei-ed kegs or tubs.

Several of these articles are infested with small black insects,

and examination must occasionally be made for them.

Arrowroot, Tapioca, Sago, Pearl Barley, Pearl Wheat,

Cracked Wheat, American Isinglass, Macaroni, Vermicelli,

and Oat-meal are all articles which help to make an agreeable

variety, and it is just as cheap to buy a small quantity of

each as it is to buy a larger quantity of two or three articles.

Eight or ten pounds of each of these articles of food can be

stored in covered jars or covered wood boxes, and then they

are always at hand to help to make a variety. All of themare very healthful food, and help to form many delightful

dishes for desserts. Some of the most healthful puddings are

those made of rice, tapioca, sago, and macaroni ; while isin-

glass, or American, gelatine, forms elegant articles for desserts,

and is also excellent for the sick.

Sugars should not be bought by the barrel, as the brown is

apt to turn to molasses, and run out on to the floor. Refined

loaf for tea, crushed sugar for the nicest preserves and to use

with fruit, nice brown sugar for coffee, and common brown for

PROVIDING AND CASE OF FAMILY STORES. 527

more common use. The loaf can be stored in the papers on a

slielf. The others should be kept in close covered kegs, or

covered wooden articles made for the purpose.

Sutter must be kept in the dryest and coldest place you

can find, in vessels of either stone, earthen, or -wood, and never

in tin.

Lard and Drippings must be kept in a dry, cold place, and

should not be salted. Usually the cellar is the best place for

them. Earthen or stone jars are the best to store them in.

Salt must be kept in the dryest piace that can be found.

Mock salt is the best for table-salt. It should be washed,

dried, pounded, sifted, and stored in a glass jar, and covered

close. It is common to find it growing damp in the salt-stands

for the table. It should then be set by the fire to diy, and

afterward be reduced to fine powder again. Few things are

more disagreeable than coarse or damp salt on a table.

Vinegar is best made of wine or cider. Buy a keg or half-

barrel of it, and set it in the cellar, and then keep a supply for

the casters in a bottle in the kitchen. If too strong, it eats

the pickles. Much manufactured vinegar is sold that ruins

pickles, and is unhealthful.

Pickles never must be kept in glazed wai-e, as the vinegar

forms a poisonous compound with the glazing.

Oil must be kept in the cellar. Winter-strained must be

got in cold weather, as the summer-strained will not burn

except in warm weather. Those who use kerosene-oil should

never trust it with heedless servants or children. Never fill

lamps with it at night, nor allow servants to kindle fire with

it, or to fill a lamp with it when lighted. Inquire for the

safest pattern of lamps, and learn all the dangers to be avoided,

and the cautions needful in the use of this most dangerous ex-

plosive oil. Neglect this caution and you probably will be a

sorrowful mourner all your life for the sufierings or death of

some dear friend.

Molasses, if bought by the barrel, or half-barrel, should be

kept in the cellar. If bought in small quantities, it should be

kept in a demijohn. No vessel should be corked or bunged,

528 THE BOUSBKMBPER'S MANUAL.

if filled with molasses, as it will swell and burst the vessel, or

run over.

Sard Soap should be bought by large quantity, and laid to

harden on a shelf in a very dry place. It is much more econo-

mical to buy hard than soft soap, as those who use soft soap

ai"e very apt to waste it in using it, as they can not do with

hard soap.

Starch it is best to buy by a large quantity. It comes very

nicely put up in papers, a pound or two in each paper, and

packed in a box. The high-priced starch is cheapest in the

end.

Indigo is not always good. When a good lot is found bytrial, it is best to get enough for a year or two, and store it in

a tight tin box.

Coffee it is best to buy by the bag, as it improves by keep-

ing. Let it hang in the bag in a dry place, and it loses its

rank smell and taste. It is poor economy to buy ground cof-

fee, as it often has other articles mixed, and loses flavor bykeeping after it is ground.

Tea, if bought by the box, is several cents a pound cheaper

than by small quantities. If well put Up in boxes lined with

lead, it keeps perfectly ; but put up in paper, it soon loses its

flavor. It therefore should, if in small quantities, be put up

in glass or tin, and shut tight.

Soda should be bought in small quantities, then powdered,

sifted, and kept tight corked in a large-mouth glass bottle. It

grows damp if exposed to the air, and then can not be used

properly.

Jtaisins should not be bought in large quantities, as they are

injured by tiine. It is best to buy the small boxes.

Currants for cake should be prepared, and set by for use in

a jar

Lemon and Orange-peel should be dried, pounded, and set

up in corked glass jars.

Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Cloves, Mace, and Allspice should be

pounded fine, and corked tight in small glass bottles, with

mouths large enough for a junk-bottle cork, and then put in a

tight tin box, made for the purpose. Or they can be put in

PROVIDING AND CAIiM OF FAMILY STORES. 529

small tin boxes with tight covers. Essences are as good as

spices. y^

Sweet Serbs should be dried, the stalks thrown away, andthe rest be kept in corked large-mouth bottles, or small tin

boxes.

Cream Tartar, Citric and Tartaric Acids, Hicarhonate ofSoda, and Essences should be kept in corked glass jars. Sal

volatile must be kept in a large-mouth bottle, with a ground-

glass stopper to make it air-tight. Use cold water in dissolving

it. It must be powdered.

I*reserves and Jellies should be kept in glass or stone, in a

cool, dry place, well sealed, or tied with bladder covers. If

properly made and thus put up, they never will ferment. If it

is difficult to find a cool, dry j)lace, pack the jars in a box, and

fill the interstices with sand, very thoroughly dried. It is best

to put jellies in tumblers, or small glass jars, so as to open

only a small quantity at a time.

The most easy way of keeping Hams perfectly is to wrap

and tie them in paper, and pack them in boxes or barrels with

ashes. The ashes must fill all interstices, but must not touch

the hams, as it absorbs the fat. It keeps them sweet, and pro-

tects from all kinds of insects.

After smoked beef or hams are cut, hang them in a coarse

linen bag in the cellai-, and tie it up to keep out flies.

Keep Cheese in a cool, dry place, and after it is cut, wrap it

in a linen cloth, and keep it in a tight tin box.

Keep Bread in a tin covered box, and it will keep fresh and

good longer than if left exposed to the air.

Cake also should be kept in a tight tin box. Tin boxes made

with covers like trunks, with handles at the ends, are best for

bread and cake.

Smoked herring keep in the cellar.

Codfish is improved by changing it, once in a while, back

and forth from garret to cellar. Some dislike to have it in the '

house anywhere.

All salted provision must be watched, and kept under the

brine. When the brine looks bloody, or smells badly, it must

be scalded, and more salt put to it, and poured over the meat.

XXI.

ON SETTING TABLES, AND PREPARING VARIOUS ARTICLES OF

FOOD FOE THE TABLE.

To a person accustomed to a good table, tlie manner in which

the table is set, and the mode in which food is prepared and

set on, has a great influence, not only on the eye, but the ap-

petite. A housekeeper ought, therefore, to attend carefully to

these particulars.

The table-cloth should always be white, and well washed

and ironed. When taken from the table, it should be folded

in the ironed creases, and some heavy article laid on it. Aheavy bit of plank, smoothed and kept for the purpose, is use-

ful. By this method, the table-cloth looks tidy much longer

than when it is less carefully laid aside.

When table-napkins are used, care should be taken to keep

the same one to each person, and in laying them aside, they

should be folded so as to hide the soiled places, and laid under

pressure. It is best to use napkin-rings.

The table-cloth should always be put on square, and right

side upward. The articles of table furniture should be

placed with order and symmetry.

The bread for breakfast and tea should be cut in even, regu-

lar slices, not over a fourth of an inch thick, and all crumbsremoved from the bread-plate. Thgy should be piled in a

regular form, and if the slices are large they should be di-

vided.

The butter should be cooled in cold water, if not already

hard, and then cut into a smooth and regular form, and a but-

ter-knife be laid by the plate, to be used for no other purpose

but to help the butter.

A small plate should be placed at each plate for butter, and

ON SETTING TABLES. 531

a small salt-cup set by each breakfast or dinner-plate. This

saves butter and salt.

All the flour should be wiped from small cakes, and the

crumbs be kept from the bread-plate.

In preparing dishes for the dinner-table, all water should becarefully drained from the vegetables, and the edges of the

platters and dishes should be made perfectly clean and neat.

All soiled spots should be removed from the outside of

pitchers, gravy-boats, and every article used on the table ; the

handles of the knives and forks must be clean, and the knives

bright and sharp.

In winter, the plates and all the dishes used, both for meatand vegetables, should be set to the fire to warm, when the

table is being set, as cold plates and dishes cool the vegetables,

gravy, and meats, which by many is deemed a great injury.

Cucumbers, when prepared for table, should be laid in cold

water for an hour or two to cool, and then be peeled and cut

into fresh cold water. Then they should be drained, and

brought to the table, and seasoned the last thing.

The water should be drained thoroughly from all greens and

salads.

There are certain articles which are usually set on together,

because it is the fashion, or because they are suited to each

other.

Thus, with strong-flavored meats, like mutton, goose, and

duck, it is customary to serve the strong-flavored vegetables,

such as onions and turnips. Thus, turnips are put in mutton

broth, and served with mutton, and onions are used to stuff

geese and ducks. But onions are usually banished from the

table and from cooking on account of the disagreeable flavor

they impart to the atmosphere and breath.

Boiled Poultry should be accompanied with boiled ham or

tongue.

Boiled Rice is served with poultry as a vegetable.

Jelly is served with mutton, venison, and roasted meats, and

is used in the gravies for hashes.

Fresh Pork requires some acid sauce, such as cranberry, or

tart applesauce.


Drawn Butter^ prepared as in the recipe, with eggs in it, is

used with boiled fowls and boiled fish.

Pickles are served especially with fish, and Soy is a fashion-

able sauce for fish, which is mixed on the plate ,with drawn

butter.

There are modes of garnishing dishes, and j)i'eparing them

for table, which give an air of taste and refinement that pleases

the eye. Thus, in preparing a dish of fricasseed fowls, or

stewed fowls, or cold fowls warmed over, small cups of boil-

ed nee can be laid inverted around the edge of the platter, to

eat with the meat.

On Broiled Sam or Veal, eggs boiled or fried, and laid one

on each piece, look well.

Greens and Asparagus should be well drained, and laid on

buttered toast, and then slices of boiled eggs be laid on the

top and around.

Hashes and preparations of pigs' and calves' head and feet

should be laid on toast, and garnished with round slices of

lemon.

Curled Parsley, or Oommon Parsley, is a pretty garnish, to

be fastened to the shank of a ham, to conceal the bone, and

laid around the dish holding it. It looks well laid around any

dish of cold slices of tongue, ham, or meat of any kind.

In setting a tea-table, small-sized plates are set around, with

a knife, napkin, and buttei'-plate laid by each in a regular

manner, while the articles of food are to be set, also, in regular

order. On the waiter are placed tea-cups and saucers, sugar-

bowl, slop-bowl, cream-cup, and two or three articles for tea,

cofiee, and hot water, as the case may be. On the dinner-table,

by each plate, is a knife, fork, napkin, and tumbler; and small

butter-plate and salt-cup shovdd also be placed by each plate.

XXII.

"WASHING, IRONING, AND CLEANSING.

Many a woman without servants, or with those untrained,must do her own washing and ironmg, or train others to do it,

and this is the most trying department of housekeeping. Thefollowing may aid in lessening labor and care.

It saves washing and is more healthful to use flannel shirts.

Farmers, sailors, and soldiers have found, by experience, thatthey are more comfortable than cotton or linen, even in thehottest days. Many gentlemen use them for common wear,changing to a cotton-flannel night-gown for sleeping. Soyoung children can have a flannel jacket and flannel drawerssewed to the jacket in front, and buttoned behind, and changethem at night for cotton-flannel made in the same way. Theunder-garments for women may be made of the same material

and pattern, and this will save washing and promote health.

Some ladies economize time and labor by wearing three-

cornered lace articles for the neck, trimmed with imitation Va-lenciennes lace, wash them in their wash-bowl, whiten in soap-

suds in a tumbler or bowl in their window, stiffen with gum-arabic, and after stretching, press under weights between clean .

papers. This is a happy contrivance when on a journey or

without servants. Those who wish to save all needless labor

in washes should have under-garments and night-gowns madein sack forms or other fashions that save in both material and

liibor. They also should omit ruffles and other trimmings that

increase the labor of ironing.

There is nothing which tends more effectually to secure good

washing than a full supply of all conveniences. A plenty of

soft water is a very important item. "When this can not be had,

lye or soda can be put in hard water, to soften it. Borax is

534 THE SOUSEKEEPEB'S MANUAL.

safer than soda, wliich turns white clothes yellow, and injures

texture. Buy crude borax, and for a common washing use half

an ounce. A borax soap is made thus : To a pound of bar-

soap, cut in small pieces, put a quart of hot. water and an

ounce of powdered borax. ' Heat and mix, but do not boil, cool

and cut into cakes, and use like hard soap. Soak the white

clothes in a suds made of this soap over night, and it saves

much rubbing. Two wash-forms' are needed ; one for the two

tubs in which to put the suds, and the other for blueing and

starching-tubs. Four tubs, of different sizes, are necessary;

also, a large wooden dipper, (as metal is apt to rust ;) two or

three pails ; a grooved wash-board ; a clothes-line, (sea-grass

or horse-hair is best ;) a wash-stick to move clothes whenboiling, and a wooden fork to take them out. Soap-dishes,

made to hook on the tubs, save soap and time. Provide, also,

a clothes-bag, in which to boil clothes; an indigo-bag, of

double flannel; a starch-strainer, of coarse linen; a bottle of

ox-gall for calicoes ; a supply of starch, neither sour nor musty

;

several dozens' of clothes-pins, which are cleft sticks, used to

fasten clothes on the line ; a bottle of dissolved gum-arabic

;

two clothes-baskets ; and a brass or copper kettle, for boiling

clothes, as iron is apt to rust. A closet for keeping all these

things is a great convenience. Tubs, pails, and all hooped

wooden ware, should be kept out of the sun, and in a cool place,

or they will fall to pieces.

COMMON MODB OP WASHING.

Assort the clothes, and put those most soiled in soak the

night before. Never pour hot water on them, as it sets the

dirt. In assorting clothes, put the flannels in one lot, the

colored clothes in another, the coarse white ones in a third, andthe fine clothes in a fourth lot. Wash the fine clothes in one

tub of suds. When clothes are very much soiled, a second

suds is needful, turning them wrong side out. Put them in the

boiling-bag, and boil them in strong suds for half an hour, andnot much more. Move them, while boiling, with the clothes-

stick. Take them out of the boiling-bag, and put them into a

tub of water, and rub the dirtiest places again, if need be.

WASHING, IRONING, AND CLEANSING. 535

Throw them into the rinsing-water, and then wring them out,and put them into the blueing-water, l-'ut the articles to bestiffened into a clothes-basket, by themselves, and just beforehanging out, dip them in starchy clapping it in, so as to havethem equally stiff in all parts. Hang white clothes in the sunand colored ones (wrong side out) in the shade. Fasten themwith cfothes-pins. Then wash the coarser white articles in thes^me manner. Then wash the colored clothes. These mustnot be soaked, nor have lye or soda put in the water, and theyought not to lie wet long before hanging out, as it injures their

colors. Beefs-gall, one spoonful to two pailfuls of suds, im-proves calicoes. Lastly, wash the flannels in suds as hot as

the hand can bear. Never rub on soap, as this shrinks themin spots. Wring them out of the first suds, and throw theminto another tub of hot suds, turning them wrong side out.

Then throw them into hot blueing-water. Do not put blueing

into Buds, as it makes specks in the flannel. Never leave

flannels long in water, nor put them in cold or lukewarmwater. Before hanging them out, shake and stretch them.

Some housekeepers have a close closet, made with slats across

the top. On these slats, they put their flannels, when ready to

hang out, and then burn brimstone under them, for ten minutes.

It is but little trouble, and keeps the flannels as white as new.

Wash the colored flannels and hose, after the white, adding

môre hot water. Some persons dry woolen hose on stocking-

boards, shaped like a foot and leg, with strings to tie them on

the line. This keeps them from shrinking, and makes them

look better than if ironed. It is also less work than to iron

them properly.

Bedding should be washed in long days, and in hot weather.

Empty straw beds once a year.

The following cautions in regard to calicoes are useful.

Never wash them in very warm water ; and change the water

when it appears dingy, or the light parts will look dirty.

Never rub on soap; but remove grease with French-chalk,

starch, magnesia, or Wilmington clay. Make starch for black

calicoes with coffee-water, to prevent any whitish appearance.

Glue is good for stiffening calicoes. When laid aside, not to

536 THM housekeeper's MANUAL.

be used, all stiffening sliould be washed out, or they -will often be

injured. Never let calicoes freeze in drying. Some persons

use bran-water, (four quarts of wheat-bran to two pails of

water,) and no soap, for calicoes ; washing and rinsing in the

bran-water. Potato-water is equally good. Take eight peeled

and grated potatoes to one gallon of water.

To Cleanse Gentkmenh Broadcloths.—The best way, which

the writer has repeatedly tried with unfailing success, is the

following : Take one beefs-gall, half a pound of saleratus, and

four gallons of warm water. Lay the article on a table, and

scour it thoroughly, in every part, with a clothes-brush, dipped

in this mixture. The collar of a coat, and the grease-spots,

(previously marked by stitches of white thread,) must be re-

peatedly brushed. Then, take the article, and rinse it up and

down in the mixture. Then rinse it up and down in a tub of

soft cold water. Then, without wringing or pressing, hang it

to drain and dry. Fasten a coat up by the collar. "When

perfectly dry, it is sometimes the case, with coats, that noth-

ing more is needed. In other cases, it is necessary to dampenwith a sponge the parts which look wrinkled, and either pull

them smooth with the fingers, or press them with an iron,

having a piece of bombazine or thin woolen cloth between

the ii'on and the article.

TO MANUFACTUEE LTE, SOAP, STAEOH, AND OTHER ARTICLES

USED IN WASHING.

To mahe Lye.—Provide a large tub, made of pine or ash,

and set it on a form, so high that a tub can stand under it.

Make a hole, an inch in diameter, near the bottom, on one side.

Lay bricks inside about this hole, and straw over them. Toevery seven bushels of ashes add two gallons of unslacked

lime, and throw in the ashes and lime in alternate layers.

"While puttii^g in the ashes and lime, pour on boiling water,

using three or four pailfuls. After this, add a pailful of cold

soft water once an hour, till all the ashes appear to be well

soaked. Catch the drippings in a tub and try its strength

with an egg. If the egg rise so as to show a circle as large as

a ten-cent piece, the strength is right ; if it rise higher, the lye

WASHING, IRokma, AND CLEANSTNG. 537

must be weakened by water ; if not so high, the ashes are notgood, and the whole process must be repeated, putting in freshashes, and running the weak lye through the new ashes, withsome additional water. Quick-lye is made by poui-ing onegallon of boiling soft water on three quarts of ashes, andstraining it. Oak ashes are best.

To make Soft ôop.—Save all drippings and fat, melt them,and set them away in cakes. Some persons keep, for soap-grease, a half-barrel, with weak lye in it, and a cover overit. To make soft soap, take the proportion of one pailful oflye to three pounds of fat- Melt the fat, and pour in the lye,

by degrees. Boil it steadily, through the day, till it is ropy.If not boiled enough, on cooling it will turn to lye and sedi-

ment. While boiling, there should always be a little oil on thesurface. If this does not appear, add more grease. If there

is too much grease, on cooling, it will rise, and can be skimmedoff. Try it, by cooling a small quantity. When it appears like

jelly on becoming cold, it is done. It must then be put in acool place and often stirred.

To make cold Soft Soap, melt thirty pounds of grease, put it

in a barrel, add four pailfuls of strong lye, and stir it up tho-

roughly. Then gradually add more lye, till the barrel is nearly

full, and the soap looks about right.

To make Potash-Soap, melt thirty-nine pounds of grease,

and put it in a barrel. Take twenty-nine pounds of light ash-

colored potash, (the reddish-coioredL will spoil the soap,) and

pour hot water on it ; then pour it off into the grease, stirring

it well. Continue thus till all the potash is melted. Add one

pailful of cold water, stirring it a great deal every day, till the

barrel be full, and then it is done. This is the cheapest and

best kind of soap. It is best to sell ashes and buy potash.

The soap is better, if it stand a year before it is used ; there-

fore make two barrels at once.

To prepare Starch.—Take four table-spoonfuls of starch;

put in as much water, and rub it, till all lumps are removed.

Then add half a cup of cold water. Pour this into a quart of

boiling water, and boil it for half an hour, adding a piece of

spermaceti, or a lump of salt or sugar, as large as a hazel-nut.

538 THE HOUSEKBEPERS MANUAL.

Strain it, and put in a very little blueing. Thin it with hot

water.

Beefs- Gall.—Send a junk-bottle to the butcher, and have

several gall-bladders emptied into it. Keep it salted, and in a

cool place. Some persons perfume it ; but fresh air removes

the unpleasant smell which it gives, when used for clothes.

DIEBCTIONS POK STAECHING MUSLINS AND LACES.

Many ladies clap muslins, then dry them, and afterward

sprinkle them. This saves time. Others clap them till nearly

dry, then fold and cover, and then iron them. Iron wrought

muslins on soft flannel, and on the wrong side.

To do up Laces nicely, sew a clean piece of muslin around

a long bottle, and roll the lace on it;pulling out the edge, and

rolling it so that the edge will turn in, and be covered as you

roll. Fill the bottle with water, and then boil it for an hour in

a suds made with white soap. Rinse it in fair water, a little

blue ; dry it in the sun ; and, if any stiffening is wished, use thin

starch or gum-arabic. When dry, fold and press it between

white papers in a large book. It improves the lace to wet it

with sweet-oil, after it is rolled on the bottle, and before boil-

ing in the suds. Blond laces can be whitened by rolling them

on a bottle in this way, and then setting the bottle in the sun,

in a dish of cold suds made with white soap, wetting it tho-

roughly, and changing the suds every day. Do this for a

week or more ; then rinse in fair water ; dry it on the bottle

in the sun and stiffen it with white gum-arabic. Lay it awayin loose folds. Lace vails can be whitened by laying them in

flat dishes, in suds made with white soap ; then rinsing, and

stiffening them with gum-arabic, stretching them, and pinning

them a sheet to dry.

ARTICLES TO BE PEOVTDBD EOE lEONING.

Provide the following articles: A w;oolen ironing-blanket,

and a linen or cotton sheet to spread over it ; a large fire, of

charcoal and hard wood, (unless furnaces or stoves are used;)

a hearth free from cinders and ashes, a piece of sheet-iron, in

WASHING, IRONING, AlA> CLEANSING. 539

front of the fire, on which to set the irons while heating;(this last saves many black spots from careless ironers ;) threeor four holders, made of woolen, and covered with old silk,

as these do not easily take fire ; two iron rings or iron-stands, onwhich to set the irons, and small pieces of board to put underthem, to prevent scorching the sheet ; linen or cotton wipers

j

and a piece of bees-wax, to rub on the irons when they are

smoked. There should be, at least, three irons for each personironing, and a small and large clothes-frame, on which 'to air

the fine and coarse clothes. It is a great saving of space as

well as labor to have a clothes-frame made with a large num-ber of slats, on which to hang clothes. Then have it fastened

to the wall, and, when not used, pushed flat against the wall.

Any carpenter can understand how to make this.

A bosom-board, on which to iron shirt-bosoms, should bemade, one foot and a half long and nine inches wide, andcovered with white flannel. A skirt-board on which to iron

frock-skirts, should be made, five feet long and two feet wide

at one end, tapering to one foot and three inches wide at the

other end. This should be covered with flannel ; and will save

much trouble in ironing nice dresses. The large end may be

put on the table, and the other on the back of a chair. Both

these boards should have cotton covers made to fit them, and

these should be changed and washed when dirty. These

boards are often useful, when articles are to be ironed or

pressed in a chamber or parlor, and where economy of space

is needful, they may be hung to a wall or door by loops on

the covers. Provide, also, a press-board, for broadcloth, two

feet long and four inches wide at one end, tapering to three

inches wide, at the other.

If the lady of the house will provide all these articles, see

that the fires are properly made, the ironing-sheets evenly put

on and properly pinned, the clothes-frames dusted, and all

articles kept in their places, she will do much toward securing

good ironing.

540 TSE HOUSflKEBPEliS MANUAL.

OW SPEESTKLUSTG, POLDnSTG, AND IRONING.

Wipe the dust from the ironing-board, and lay it down, to

receive the clothes, which should be sprinkled with clear

and warm water, and laid in separate piles, one of colored, one

of common, and one of fine articles, and one of flannels. Fold

the fine things, and roll them in a towel, and then fold the

rest, turning them all right side outward. The colored clothes

should be laid separate from the rest, and ought not to lie long

damp, as it injures the colors. The sheets and table-linen

should be shaken, stretched, and folded by two persons.

Iron lace and needle-work on the wrong side, and carry them

away as soon as dry. Iron calicoes with irons which are not

very hot, and generally on the right side, as they thus keep

clean for a longer time. In ironing a frock, first do the waist,

then the sleeves, then the skirt. Keep the skirt rolled, while

ironing the other parts, and set a chair, to hold the sleeves

while ironing the skirt, unless a skirt-board be used. In iron-

ing a shirt, first do the back, then the sleeves, then the collar

and bosom, and then the front. Iron silk on the wrong side,

when quite damp, with an iron which is not very hot, as light

colors are apt to change and fade. Iron velvet, by turning up

the face of the iron, and after dampening the wrong side of the

velvet, draw it over the face of the iron, holding it straight

and not biased.

TO WHITEN ARTICLES, AND REMOVE STAINS FROM THEM.

"Wet white clothes in suds, and lay them oq the grass, in the

sun. It will save from grass stain, to have a clean white cloth

under the articles to be whitened. Lay muslins in suds madewith white soap, in a flat dish ; set this in the sun, changingthe suds every day. Whiten tow-cloth or brown linen bykeeping it in lye through the night, laying it out in the sun,

and wetting it with fair water, as fast as it dries.

Scorched articles can often be whitened again, by laying

them in the sun, wet with suds. Where this does not answer,

put a pound of white soap in a gallon of milk, and boil the

article in it. Another method is, to chop and extract the juice

WASHING, mONING, AND CLEANSING. 541

from two onions, and boil this with half a pint of vinegar, anounce of white soap, and two ounces of fuller's earth. Spreadthis, when cool, on the scorched part, and, when dry, wash it

off, in fair water. Mildew may be removed by dipping thearticle in sour butterniilk, laying it in the sun, and, after it is

white, rinsing it in fair water. Soap and chalk are also good

;

also, soap and starch, adding half as much salt as there is

starch, together with the juice of a lemon. Stains in linen canoften be removed by rubbing on soft soap, then putting on astarch paste and drying in the sun, renewing it several times.

Wash off all the soap and starch, in cold, fair water.

MTXTTTBES FOR REMOVING STAINS AND GREASE.

Stain-Mixture.—Half an ounce of oxalic acid in a pint of soft water.

This can be kept in a corked bottle and is infallible in removing iron-

rust and ink-stains. It is very poisonous. The article must be spread

with this mixture over the steam of hot water, and wet several times.

This will also remove indelible ink. The article must be washed, or the

mixture will injure it.

Another Stain-Mixture is made, by mixing one ounce of sal ammo-niac, one ounce of salt of tartar, and one pint of soft water.

To remove Grease.—Mix four ounces of fuller's earth, half an ounce

of pearlash, and lemon-juice enough to make a stiflF paste, which can be

dried in balls, and kept for use. Wet the greased spot with cold water,

rub it with the ball, dry it, and then rinse it with fair cold water. This is

for white articles. For silks, and worsteds, use French-chalk, which can

be procured of the apothecaries. That which is soft and white is best.

Scrape it on the greased spot, under side, and let it lie for a day and

night. Then brush oflf that used and renew it, till the spot disappears-

Wilmington clay-balls are equally good. Ink-spots can often be removed

from white clothes by rubbing on common tallow, leaving it for a day

or two, and then washing as usual. Grease can be taken out of wall-pa-

per, by making a paste of potter's clay, water, and ox-gall, and spreading

it on the paper. When dry, renew it, till the spot disappears.

Stains on floors, from soot or stove-pipes can be removed by washing

the spot in sulphuric acid and water. Stains, in colored silk dresses

can often be removed by pure water. Those made by acids, tea, wine,

and fruits can often be removed by spirits of hartshorn, diluted with an

equal quantity of water. Sometimes it must be repeated several times.

Tar, Pitch, and Turpentine can be removed, by putting the spot in


sweet-oil, or by spreading tallow on it, and letting it remain for twenty-

four hours. Then, if the firticle be linen or cotton, wash it as usual ; if

it be silk or worsted, rub it with ether or spirits of wine.

Lamp-Oil can be removed from floors, carpets, and other articles, by

spreading upon the stain a paste made of fuller's earth or potter's cla;^,

brushing off and renewing it, when dry, till the stain is removed. If gali

be put into the paste, it will preserve the colors from injury. When the

stain has been removed, carefully brush off the paste with a soft brush.

Oil-Paint can be removed by rubbing it with very pure spirits of tur-

pentine. The impure spirits leave a grease-spot. Wax can be removed

by scraping it off, and then holding a red-hot poker near the spot. Sper-

maceti may be removed by scraping it off, then patting a paper over the

spot, and applying a warm iron. If this does not answer, rub on spirits

of wine.

Ink-Stains in carpets and woolen table-covers can be removed bywashing the spot in a liquid composed of one tea-spoonful of oxalic acid

dissolved in a tea-cupful of warm (not hot) water, and then rinsing in cold

water. When ink is first spilled on a woolen carpet, pour on water im-

mediately, and sop it up several times, and no stain will be made. Oftenon other articles, a stream of cold water poured on the under side of theink-spot will so dilute the ink that it can be rubbed out in cold water.

Stains on Yamislied Articles, which are caused by cups of hot water,can be removed by rubbing them with lamp-oil, and then with alcohol.Ink-stains can be taken out of mahogany by one tea-spoonful of oil ofvitriol mixed with one table-spoonful of water, or by oxalic acid andwater. These must be brushed over quickly, and then washed off withmilk.

Silk Handkereliiefs and Ribbons can be cleansed, by using French-chalk to take out the grease, and then sponging them on both sideswith lukewarm fair water. Stiffen them with gum-arabic, and pressthem between white paper, with an iron not very hot. A table-spoonfulof spirits of wine t(.»three quarts of water improves It.

SUk Hose or SUk Gtlovej should be washed in warm suds made withwhite soap, and rinsed in cold water ; they should then be stretched andrubbed with a hard rolled flannel, till they are quite dry. Ironing themvery much injures their looks. Wash-leather articles should have thegrease removed from them by French-chalk or magnesia; they shouldthen be washed in warm suds, and rinsed in cold water. Light KidGloves should have the grease removed from them, and then wash themon the hands with borax water and soft flannel—a tea-spoonful to a tum-bler of water. Then stretch a,nd press them. Dark Kid Gloves wash inthe same way.

xxm.

MISCEIXAISTEOXTS ABTIGE AND EECIPES.

How to keep cool in hot TVeatlier.—Sit in a room covered withmatting or without any carpet, and keep the floor wet with pure waterand a watering-pot. In hot nights, place a double wet sheet on the bedand a woolen blanket over it, and it will cool the bed which is heatedthrough the day, and does not cool as fast as the evening air. A hot bedis often the cause of sleeplessness. Wear wristlets and anklets of wetflannel. Shut all doors and windows early in the morning to keep in

cool air, and let in air only through windows that are on the shady side

of the house. If chambers open upon the hot roofs of piazzas or porticos,

cover them with clean straw or hay, and wet them with a watering-

pot. In all these cases, the heat is taken from the air and from all sur-

rounding things by the absorption of heat as the water changes to vapor.

Indelible Ink.—Put six cents' worth of lunar caustic in a small vial,

and fill with rain-water. To prepare the cloth, put a great-spoonful of

gum-arabic into a larger bottle, with a drachm of salt of tartar, fill with

water, and when dissolved, wet the cloth, and press it smooth with a

warm (not hot) iron. Put the articles, when marked, in the sun.

To preserve Eggs.—^Pack eggs in a jar small end downward, and then

pour in a mixture of four quarts of slacked lime, two table-spoonfuls of

cream tartar and two of salt. This will cover about nine dozen for seve-

ral months.

To prevent Earthen, Glass, and Ironware from being easily Broken.

—Put them in cold water, and heat till boiling, and cool gradually.

A Good Cement for Broken Earthen and Glass.—Mix Russian isin-

glass in white brandy, forming a thick jelly when cool. Strain and cork.

When using it, rub it on the broken edges, and hold them together

three or four minutes.

To keep Knives from Knst and other Injury.—Rub bright, and

wrap in thick brown paper. Never let knife-handles lie in water, and

do not let their blades stay in very hot water, as the heat expands the

iron, and makes handles crack.

544 TRE housekeeper's majvual.

To cleanse or renovate Furniture.—White spots on furniture re-

move by camphene, or sometimes by oil or spirits of turpentine. Remove

mortar spots with warm vinegar, and paint-spots with camphene or

burning-fluid. Powdered pumice-stone is better than sand to clean paint.

To polish unvarnished furniture, rub on two ounces of bees-wax, half an

ounce of alconet root, melted together, and, when cooled, two ounces of

spirits of wine, and half a pint of spirits of turpentine.

To clean Silver.—Wet whiting vrith liquid hartshorn, and this will

remove black spots. Or boil half an ounce of pulverized hartshorn in a

pint of water, and pour it into rags, dry them, and use to cleanse silver.

Polish with wash-leather.

To cleanse Wall-Paper.—Wipe with a clean pillow-case on a broom,

and brush gently. Rub bad spots with soft bread-crumbs gently.

To purify a WeU.—Get out the water, and then put in three or four

quarts of quick-lime. Any well long unused should be thus cleansed.

How to treat Koses and other Plants.—Water them daily with

water steeped in wood-ashes. To destroy slugs, scatter ashes over the

plant at night before the dew falls, or before a coming shower. Waterall plants with washing-day suds, and it makes them flourish. Scatter

salt in gravel walks to get out grass and weeds. Use old brine for this

purpose. Use saw-dust to manure plants ;' also wood-ashes ; even that

used to make lye is good.

Easy Way to keep Orapes.—When not dead ripe, have them free

from dampness, take out the decayed, and wrap each bunch in cotton,

putting only two layers in a box. Keep in a dry, cool room, where they

will not freeze.

Snow for Eggs.—Two table-spoonfuls of snow strewed in quickly,

and baked immediately, is equal to one egg in puddings or pan-cakes.

Paper to keep Preserves.—Soft paper dipped in the white of an eggis the best cover for jellies and pickles. Turn it over the rim.

To make Butter cool in liot Weather.—Set it on a bit of brick, cover

with a flower-pot, and wrap a wet cloth around the pot. The evaporation

cools it as well as ice.

To stop Cracks in Iron.—Mix ashes and common salt and a little

water, and fill the cracks.

To stop Creaking Hinges.—Put on oil.

To stop Creaking Doors and make Drawers slide easily.—Rub on

hard soap.

MISCELLANEOUS ADVICE AND RECIPES. 545

To renovate Black Silk.—Wash in cold tea or coffee, witli a little

sugar in them. Put in a little ink if very rusty. Drain and do not wringand iron on tlie wrong side.

Another Way to clean Kid ©lores.—Bub tliem lightly with ben-

zine, and as they dry, with pearl-powder. Expose to the air to removethe smell.

To remove Grease-Spots.—Put an ounce of powdered borax to a quart

of boiling water. Wash with this, and keep it corked for further use.

To get rid of Rats and Mice.—A cat is the best remedy. Another

is to half fill a tub with water, and sprinkle oats and meal on the top.

For a wliile they will be deceived, jump in, and be drowned or caught.

ODDS AXD ENDS.

There are certain odds and ends where every housekeeper

will gain much by having a regular time to attend them. Let

this time be the last Saturday forenoon in every month, or any

other time more agreeable ; but let there be a regularfixed time

once a month in which the housekeeper will attend to the fol-

lowing things

:

First. Go around to every room, drawer, and closet in the

house, and see what is out of order, and what needs to be

done, and make arrangements as to time and manner of

doing it.

Second. Examine the store-closet, and see if there is a proper

supply of all articles needed there.

Third. Go to the cellar, and see if the salted provision,

vegetables, pickles, vine'âr, and all other articles stored in the

cellar are in proper order, and examine all the preserves and

jellies.

Fourth. Examine the trunk or closet of family linen, and see

what needs to be repaired and renewed.

Fifth. See if there is a supply of dish-towels, dish-cloths,

bags, holders, floor-cloths, dust-cloths, wrapping-paper, twine,

lamp-wicks, and all other articles needed in kitchen work.

Sixth. Count over the spoons, knives, and forks, and examine

all the various household utensils, to see what need replacing,

and what should be repaired.

Seventh. Have in a box a hammer, tacks, pincers, gimlets,

546 THE BOUSMKEEJPBR^S MANUAL.

nails, screws, screw-driver, small saw, and two sizes of chisels

for emergencies when no regular workman is at hand. Also

be prepared to set glass. Every lady should be able in emer-

gency to do such jobs herself.

A housekeeper who will have a regular time for attending

to these particulars will find her whole family machinery

moving easily and well ; but one who does not, will constantly

be finding something out of joint, and an unquiet, secret ap-

prehension of duties left undone or forgotten, which no other

method will so effectually remove.

A housekeeper will often be much annoyed by the accumu-

lation of articles not immediately needed, that must be saved

for future use. The following method, adopted by a thrifty

housekeeper, may be imitated with advantage. She bought

some cheap calico, and made bags of various sizes, and wrote

the following labels with indelible ink on a bit of broad tape,

and sewed them on one side of the bags : OldLinens, Old Cot-

tons, Old Black Silks, Old Colored Silks, Old Stockings, Old

Colored Woolens, Old Flannels, New Linsn, JVew Cotton, JVew

Woolens, New Silks, Pieces of Dresses, Pieces of Boys^ Clothfis,

etc. These bags were hung around a closet, and filled with

the above articles, and then it was known where to look for

each, and where to put each when not in use.

Another excellent plan, for the table, is for a housekeeper once

a month to make out a bill offare for the four weeks to come.

To do this, let her look over this book, and find out what kind

of dishes the season of the year and her own stores will enable

her to provide, and then make out a list of the dishes she will

provide through the month, so as to have an agreeable variety

for breakfasts, dinners, and suppers. Some systematic ar-

rangement of this kind at regular periods will secure great

comfort and enjoyment to a family..

XXIV.

THE LAWS OF HEALTH AND HAPPmESS.

EvEET housekeeper should well consider the following,

which are latos of health, taught by learned physiologists and

physicians, and also by a widely recorded experience. Theyare also the laws of happiness, inasmuch as health is indispen-

sable to happiness. Furthermore, they are laws of God, inas-

much as he has made us to be happy ; and so whatever lessens

our highest happiness is contrary to his will and wishes, and

sore penalties follow disobedience.

Laws of Health for tJie Bone's.—As the nutrition and

strength of the bones depend upon it, take care to exercise

daily in pure air. Never allow the spine to be habitually out

of its natural position in sitting or sleeping, as thus distortion

and disease are induced. Never allow clothing to compress

the bones of the chest or ribs, as this lessens both lung and ab-

dominal breathing, lessens the needful amount of oxygen, and

thus debilitates the whole body. Always have all clothing

supported from the shoulders, so as never to press upon the

abdomen, and thus duninish or stop abdominal respiration on

which good health so much depends. Do not wear high heels,

as it tends to internal displacements, and also to distort the

ankles and spine. It also distorts the foot, causes bunions

and corns, while it makes a graceful walk impossible.

Laws of Healthfor the Muscles.—Be careful that the blood

which nourishes the muscles has the proper supply of pure air

from the lungs, and of healthful nutriment from the stomach.

Take care that all the muscles are brought to full size and

strength by exercise for them all. Take care, also, that none

of them are weakened by excess of exercise. When inactive

548 THM BOnSEKBErER'S MANUAL.

habits are to be changed, take care that it be done not sudden-

ly, but by a gradual process. Never take active exercise where

the air is impure, as it usually is in large gatherings wliere

dancing is practiced. As light is a cause of health and

strength, let exercise be taken by daylight, and not in the

night. Fever compress any of the muscles by tight clothing,

as this prevents their proper nourishment by the blood. When

a person is too weak to exercise, let a nurse increase the flow

of blood to the muscles by pressure and rubbing, and do it

in fresh air.

Laws of Health for tJie Lungs.—Ît is proved by many ex-

periments that a full-grown man vitiates a hogshead of air

every hour ; therefore, so ventilate every room that each in-

mate shall have the needful pure air at this rate, especially by

night. Take care so to dress, to sit, and to lie, that the lungs

shall not be compressed, and thus be deprived of the needful

nourishing oxygen.

Laxos of Health for the Digestive Organs.—Take care to se-

cure such a variety of food that every part has a supply of its

peculiar nutriment—nitrogen for muscles, phosphorus for

brain and nerves, and carbon for lungs ; and let the proportion

follow the example given in milk, eggs, and wheat, which have

all the elements in right proportions. In doing this, you will

use unbolted flour rather than superfine. In selecting food,

have reference to climate, age, and employments ; also, have

reference to the state of health and power of digestion. Take

care not to overtax the bodily organs by excess of food. Be

careful to eat slowly and masticate thoroughly, as digestion is

more perfect when the food is combined with the saliva of the

mouth. Give four or five houi's for digestion and nutrition

between each meal. Eat at regular hours, and do not eat be-

tween meals. Do not engage in violent exercise till two hours

after a meal, as this would draw the blood which supplies the

digestive fluids from the stomach to the muscles. Gentle exer-

cise after eating helps digestion. After very vigorous exercise

or fatigue of any kind, rest half an hour before eating. Keepthe skin clean by a daily bath, and its capillaries well filled

LAWS OF HEALTM AND HAPPINESS. 549

with blood by exercise in pure air, as one mode of promoting

healthful digestion. Never compress the body by tight or

heavy clothing, which diminishes respiration, and thus good

digestion. Take all proper methods for securing a daily eva-

cuation of the bowels. Drink freely of cold water between

meals, and sparingly while eating, and never use stimulating

drinks except for medicine.

Laws of Health for the Skin.—The capillaries of the skin

contain more blood than all the rest of the body, and more

than half the food and drink, its nutritive part being used, is

thrown out by the skin. Cold closes the pores through which

this useless or injurious matter is expelled, and then the lungs,

bo^\rels, or other organs are engorged and inflamed. Of

course, take care to avoid this by warmth and avoidance of

exposure to cold. When a cold is taken, an immediate and

free perspiration is usually a remedy.

Keep the pores of the skin open and its Capillaries filled with

blood by rubbing the whole body with a wet towel, and drying

it with a coarse one. Do this either on retiring or rising, and

it is the best preventive of colds and other diseases. Bath-

rooms and tubs are a luxury, but a wet towel is equally useful,

and it is what all can secure. A small screen, like'a clothes-

frame, secures privacy, if the room be shared by others, and

can be folded and set away when not used.

Do not sleep in the same article next the skin that is worn

through the day, because the absorbents of the skin will take

back the expelled injurious matter. •

Air bed-clothing every piorning with open windows, and

mattresses should be beaten and exposed to sun and air. The

white dust thus thrown out is the fine matter expelled from the

skin. Straw beds and cotton comforters should also be often

renewed or beaten and exposed to the air, which absorbs the

injurious matter.

Keep the skin warm by bathing and by exercise in pure air

in daylight, instead of relying solely on clothing and fires.

Wear so much clothing as will save from chills. Use cool

water for bathing; but invalids, the aged, and persons of weak

650 THE MOUSEKBEFJSR'S MANUAL.

nerves should bathe by an open fire, or in a warm room, lest

they lose rather than gain by this practice. It is poor econo-

my to keep an unhealthful skin.

Avoid currents of air on any part of the body. Any dimi-

nution of clothing should be made in the morning when the

body is most vigorous.

In times of epidemic or contagious diseases, keep the skin

clean and warm, and use very nourishing food, and thus danger

is lessened.

Exposing the skin to air aild sunlight is one mode of pre-

serving health and lengthening life.

Laws of Health for the Teeth, Eyes, and Hair.—Never sleep

till the teeth are cleaned with pure water, a brush, and a piece

of thread or a tooth-pick to remove what lodges between the

teeth. It would be well to do this after each meal. Avoid

very hot food as causing decayed teeth. No tooth-powder is

needed if these directions are obeyed.

Accustom the eyes gradually to as much light as they can

bear without pain. Light is healthful, especially to the eyes,

and dark rooms make weak eyes. If the eyes are weak from

excessive use, continue to use them, but only a little at a time,

with intervals of rest ; for eyes, like all the rest of the body,

grow weak by disuse. Always shade weak eyes from brilliant

lights, especially when reading. For inflamed eyes or eyelids,

do not use what others recommend, but consult a physician

;

as a remedy for one may be injurious for another case. Gen-

tle rubbing around and over the eyes draws the blood there,

and tends to increase strength. Do it only for two minutes at

a time, three or four times a day, and very gently. Bathing

the eyes in cold water strengthens their nerves.

Never use hair mixtures until some chemist has tested them

and assures you there is no had in them. Many persons have

had paralysis and other evils by using hair mixtures contain-

ing lead to restore the color. Brushing and washing the skin

of the hair, and thus bringing the blood to nourish its roots, is

a safe and sure method, and those mixtures that seem to do

ZAWS OF SEALTU AND BAPPINESS. 551

good are efficacious chiefly because the directions always re-

quire rubbing and cleansing the skin of the hair.

Laws of Healthfor the Brain and Nerves.—Healthful food,

a clean skin, and daily exercise in the open air are indispensa-

ble. Take seven or eight hours of sleep by night and not byday, and when taxed by great care, labor, or sorrow, sleep

as much as you can, for then the brain and nerves recover

strength.

Always have some time each day devoted to some amuse-ment, and this out of doors if practicable.

Have system and order ia your employments, and let there

be vaiiety, so that no one set of nerves be wearied and another

set unemployed.

Let the intellect and feelings be engaged in safe and worthyobjects, and so exercise all the faculties as to secure a well-

balanced mind in a healthful body. In all cases of disease,

trust more to obedience to these rules than to medicines, which

should be rarely used.

Remember that these laws of health are laws of God,"and

that when you disobey them you sin against your kind hea-

venly Father who loves you, and is grieved when you injure

your own soul and body. Therefore, pray to be enabled to

obey them yourselves, and to teach them to your children,

and all under your care, both by precept and example.

XXV.

ADDRESS OF THE SENIOE AFTHOB TO HOUSEKEBPKES, MOTHERS,

AND TEAOHEKS.

Mt Dear Feiekds : I wish most fervently to save you and

your household from the sad consequences I have sufiered from

ignorance of the laws of health, especially those which womenpeculiarly need to understand and obey.

God made woman to do the work of the family, and to train

those under her care to the same labor. And her body is

so formed that family labor and care tend not only to good

health, but to the highest culture of mind. Read all that is

included in our " profession," as detailed in the first part of

this work, and see how much there is to cultivate every mental

faculty as well as our higher moral powers. Domestic labor

with the muscles of the arms and trunk, with intervals of seden-

tary work, are exactly what keep all the functions of the body

in perfect order, especially those which, at the present day, are

most out of order in our sex. And so the women of a former

generation, while they read and studied books far less than

women of the present time, were better developed both in mind

and body.

It was my good fortune to be trained by poverty and good

mothers and aunts to do every kind of domestic labor, and so,

until one and twenty, I was in full enjoyment of health and

happiness. Then I gave up all domestic employments for

study and teaching, and in ten years, I ruined my health, while

my younger sisters and friends sufiered in the same mistaken

course. And my experience has been repeated all over the

land, until there is such decay of female constitutions and

health, as alarms, and justly alarms, every well-informed per-

ADDRESS OF THE SENIOR AUTHOR. 553

After twenty years of invalidism, I have been restored to

perfect health of body and mind, and wholly by a strict obe-

dience to the laws of health and happiness, which I now com-

mend to your especial attention, with the hope and prayer

that by obedience to them you may save yourselves and

households from unspeakable future miseries.

I wish I could give you all the evidence that I have gained

to prove that woman's work in the household anight be so con-

ducted as to be agreeable, tasteful, and promotive of both grace

and beauty of person. But this never can be generally credited

till women of high culture set the example of training their

sons and daughters, instead of hired servants alone, to be their

domestic helpers.

According to the present tendency of wealth and culture, it

is women of moderate or humble means who will train their

own children to health and happiness, and rear prosperous

families. Meantime, the rich women will have large houses,

many servants, poor health, and little domestic comfort, while

they train the children of foreigners to do family work, and in

a way that will satisfy neither mistress nor servant ; for a wo-

man who does not work herself is rarely able to teach others

properly. Choose wisely, then, O youthful mother and house-

keeper! train yourself to wholesome labor and intelligent

direction, and be prepared to educate a cheerful and healthful

flock of your own children.

Your friend and well-wisher,

Cathaeine E. Bebciiek.

APPENDIX.

A GLOSSARYOP SUCH WOBDS AKD PHBASES AS MAY NOT EASILY BB UNDBRSTOOB

BY THE YOUNG RBADBB.

[Many words not contained in this Glossary will be found explainedin the body of the work, in the places where they first occur.]

Action 'brought by the Commonwealth: A prosecution conducted in thename of the public, or by the authority of the State.

AUnimen : Nourishing matter stored up between the undeveloped germand its protecting wrappings in the seed of many plants. It is the flowery

part of grain, the oily part of poppy seeds, the fleshy part in cocoa-nuts,

etc.

' Alcoholic : Made of or containing alcohol, an Inflammable liquid whichis the basis of ardent spirits.

Alkali, (plural, alkalies :) A chemical substance, which has the property of

combining with and neutralizing the properties of acids, producingsalts by the combination. Alkalies change most of the vegetable blues

and purples to green, red to purple, and yellow to brown. Oaustic

alkali: An alkali deprived of all impurities, being thereby rendered

more caustic and violent in its operation. This term is usually applied to

pure potash. Mxed alkali : An alkali that emits no characteristic smell,

and can not be volatilized or evaporated without great difficulty. Potash

and soda are called the fixed alkalies. Soda is also called a fossil or

mineral alkali, and potash the vegetable alkali. Volatile alkali : Anelastic, transparent, colorless, and consequently an invisible gas, knownby the name of ammonia or ammoniacal gas. The odor of spirits of

hartshorn is caused by this gas.

Anglo-Amêrican : English-American, relating to Americans descended

from English ancestors.

Anther : That part of the stamen of a flower which contains the pollen oi

farina, a sort of mealy powder or dust, which is necessary to the pro-

duction of the flower.

AntJi/racite : One of the most valuable kinds of mineral coal, cc ntaining no

bitumen. It is very abundant in the United States.

Aperient: Opening.

ArchcBolpgy : A discourse or treatise on antiquities.

55H GLOSSARY OF WORDS AND REFERENCES.

Arr(m-voot : A white powder, obtained from the fecula or starch of several

species of tuberous plants in the East and West-Indies, Bermuda, and

other places. That from Bermuda is most highly esteemed. It is used

as an article for the table, in the form of puddings, and also as a highly-

nutritive, easily digested, and agreeable food for invalids. It derives its

name from having been originally used by the Indians as a remedy

for the poison of their arrows, by mashing and applying it to the wound.

Articulating process : The protuberanceW projecting part of a bone, by

which it is so joined to another bone as to enable the two to move upon

each other

Asceticism : The state of an ascetic or hermit, who flies from society and

lives in retirement, or who practices a greater degree of mortification

and austerity than others do, or who inflicts extraordinary severities

upon himself.

Astral lamp : A lamp, the principle of which was invented by Benjamin

Thompson, (a native of Massachusetts, and afterward Count Rumfoid,)

in which the oU is contained in a large horizontal ring, having at the

centre a burner which communicates with the ring by tubes. The ring

is placed a little below the level of the flame, and from its large surface

affords a supply of oil for many hours.

Astute : Shrewd.

Aurides : (Prom a Latin word, signifying the ear,) the name given to two

appendages of the heart, from their fancied resemblance to the ear.

Baglim, {George :) An eminent physician, who was born at Kagusa, in

1668, and was educated at Naples and Paris. Pope Clement XIV., on

the ground of his great merit, appointed him, while a very young man.

Professor of Anatomy and Surgery in the College of Sapienza, at Rome.

He wrote several works, and did much to promote the cause of medical

science. He died a.d. 1706.

Bass, or bass-wood : A large forest-tree of America, sometimes called the

lime-tree. The wood is white and soft, and the bark is sometimes used

for bandages.

Bell, hi/r GTia/rlea : A celebrated surgeon, who was born in Edinburgh, in

the year 1778. He commenced his career in London, in 1806, as a lec-

turer on Anatomy and Surgery. In 1830, he received the honors of

knighthood, and in 1836 was appointed Professor of Surgery in the

College of Edinburgh. He died near Worcester, in England, April 39th,

1843. His writings are very numerous and have been much celebrated.

Among the most Important of these, to general readers, are his Illustra-

tions of Foley's Natural Theology, and his treatise on The Rand,, its

Mechanism and TitaZ Endowments, as evincing Design.

Bergamot : A fruit which was originally produced by ingrafting a branch

of a citron or lemou-tree upon the stock of a peculiar kind of pear,

called the bergamot pear.

Biased .' Cut diagonally from one corner to another of a square or reel

GLOSSARY OF WORDS A.i\D REFERMNCES. 559

angular piece of cloth. Bias pieces : Triangular pieces cut as above

mentioned. ^

Bituminous : Containing bitumen, whicli is an inflammable mineral Bub-

stance, resembling tar or pitch in its properties and uses. Amongdifferent bituminous substances, the names naphtha and petrolev/m

have been given to those which are fluid, maltha to that which has the

consistence of pitch, and asphaltum to that which is sohd.

Blight : A disease in plants by which they are blasted or prevented

from producing fruit.

Blonde lace : Lace made of silk.

Blood heat : The temperature which the blood is always found to main-

tain, or ninety-eight degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer.

Blue mtriol : Sulphate of copper.

Blunta : Needles of a short and thick shape, distinguished from Blimps,

which are long and slender.

Backing : A kind of thin carpeting or coarse baize.

Botany : (From a Greek word signifying an herb,) a knowledge ol

plants ; the science which treats of plants.

Brazil wood: The central part or heart of a large tree which growe

in Brazil, called the Gmsalpinia echinata. It produces very lively

and beautiful red tints, but they are not permanent.

Bronze : A metallic composition, consisting of copper and tin.

BriUure : A French teiin, denoting a burning or scalding ; a blasting

of plants.

Brussels, (carpet :) A kind of carpeting, so called from the city of Brussels,

in Europe. Its basis is composed of a warp and woof of strong linen

threads, with the warp of which are intermixed about five times the

quantity of woolen threads of different colors.

Bulb : A root with a, round body, like the onion, turnip, or hyacinth.

Bulbous : Having a bulb.

Byron, {Oeorge Gordon, ) Lord : A celebrated poet, who was bom in Lon-

don, January 22d, 1788, and died in Missolonghi, in Greece, AprU 18th,

1834

Calisthenics : From two Greek words—/toAof, kalos, beauty, and aBevoc,

stJienos, strength, being the union of both.

Camwood : A dyewood, procured from a leguminous (or pod-bearing)

tree, growing on the western coast of Africa, and called Baphianitida.

Canker-worm: A worm wliich is very destructive to trees and plants.

It springs from an egg deposited by a miller that issues from the

ground, and in some years destroys the leaves and fruit of apple

and other trees.

CapiMa/ry : A minute, hair-like tube.

Ca/rbon: A simple, inflammable body, forming the principal part of

wood and coal, and the whole of the diamond.

560 GLOSSARY OF WORDS AND REPMRENCHS.

â/rionic acid: A compotmd gas, condsting of one part of carbon and

two parts of oxygen ; fatal to animal life. It has lately been obtained

in a solid form.

Va/rbonic Oxide ; A compound, consisting of one part of carbon and one

part of oxygen ; it is fatal to animal life. Burns with a, pale, blue

flame, forming carbonic acid.

Va/rmine : A crimson col6r, the most beautiful of all the reds. It is

prepared from a decoction of the powdered cochineal insect, to which

alutu and other substances are added.

Vaseine: One of the great forms of blood-making matter; the cheesy

or curd-part of milk ; found in both animal and vegetable kingdoms:

Caster : A small vial or vessel for the table, in which to put vinegar,

mustard, pepper, etc. Also, a small wheel on a swivel-joint, on which

furniture may be turned in any direction.

OTumcellor of the Exohequer : In England, the highest judge of the

law ; the principal financial minister of a government, and the one

who manages its revenue..

Ohateau: A castle, - mansion.

Ohemistry : The science which treats of the elementary constituents of

bodies.

Chinese belle, deformities of: In China, it is the fashion to compress

the feet of female infants, to prevent their growth ; in consequence

of which, the feet of all the females of China are distorted, and so

small that the individuals can not walk with ease.

Chloride : A compound of chlorine and some other substance. Chlorine is a

simple substance, formerly called oxymuriatic acid. In its pure state, it is

a gas of green color, (hence its name, from a Greek word signi-

fying green.) Like oxygen, it supports the combustion of some in-

flammable substances. OlUoride of lime is a compound of chlorine

and lime.

Cholera infantum: A bowel-complaint to which infants are subject.

OJiyle : A white juice formed from the chyme, and consisting of the finer

and more nutritious parts of the food. It is afterward converted

into blood.

Oliyme : The result of the first process which food undergoes in the

stomach previously to its being converted into chyle.

Uicuta : The common American hemlock, an annual plant of four or

five feet in height, and found commonly along walls and fences and

about old ruins and buildings. It is a virulent poison as well as

one of the most important and valuable medicinal vegetables. It is

a very different plant from the hemlock-tree oiFirms Canadensis.

Cla/rke, (Sir Charles Mansfield,} Dr. : A distinguished English physician

and surgeon, who was born in London, May 28th, 1783. He was ap-

pointed phy^cian to Queen Adelaide, vrife of King William IV., in

OLOSSART OF WORDS AND RMFBRENOES. 561

1830, and in 1831 he was created a baronet. He was the author of

aeveraJ valuable medical works.

Cobalt : A brittle metal, of a reddish-gray color and weak metallic lus-

tre, used in coloring glass. It is not easily melted nor oxidized in the

air.

OocMiieal : A color procured from the cochineal insect, (or Ooecus fmti,)

which feeds upon the leaves of several species of the plant called cac-

tus, and which is supposed to derive its coloring matter from its food.

Its natural color is crimson ; but, by the addition of a preparation of

potash, it yields a rich scarlet dye.

Cologne-water : A fragrant perfume, which derives its name from having

been originally made in the city of Cologne, which is situated on the

river Rhine, in Gtermany. The best kind is still procured &om that

city.

Comparative anatomy : The science which has for its object a compari-

son of the anatomy, structure, and functions of the various organs of

animals, plants, etc., with those of the human body.

Confection : A sweetmeat ; a preparation of frnit with sugar ; also a pre-

paration of medicine with honey, syrup, or similar saccharine substance,

for the purpose of disguising the unpleasant taste of the medicine.

Cooper, Sir Astley Paston : A celebrated English surgeon, who was

bom at Brooke, in Norfolk county, England, August 33d, 1768, and

commenced the practice of surgery in London, in 1793. He was ap-

pointed surgeon to King George IV., in 1827, was created a baro-

net in 1831, and died February 13th, 1841. He was the author of manyvaluable works.

Copai : A hard, shining, transparent resin, of a light citron color,

brought originally from Spanish-America, and now almost wholly

from the East-Indies. It is principally employed in the preparatio* of

eopal varnish.

Copper, Sulphate of: See Sulphate of copper.

Copperas : (Sulphate of iron or green vitriol,) a bright green mineral

substance, formed by the decomposition of a peculiar ora of iron

called pyrites, which ia a sulphuret of iron. It is first in the form of a

greenish-white powder or crust, which is dissolved in water, and beau-

tiful green crystals of copperas are obtained by evaporation. It is

piincipally used in dyeing and in making black ink. Its solution,

mixed with a decoction of oak bark, produces a black color.

Cormary : Relating to a crown or garland. In anatomy, it is applied to

arteries which encompass the heart, in the manner, as it is fandod, of

a garland.

Corrosive mVKmate : A poisonous substance, composed of chlorine and

quicksilver.

Cosmetics : Pi sparations which some people foolishly think will preserve

and beautify the skin.'

562 GLOSSARY OF WORDS AND REFERENCES.

Cream of tartar : See Tartar.

Curculio : A weevil or worm, -wWch affects the fruit of the plum-tree

and sometimes that of the apple-tree, causing the unripe fruit to fall

to the ground.

Oumer, Baron : The most eminent naturalist of the present age ; waH

born A. D. 1769, and died A,D. 1832. He was Professor of Natura

History in the College of France, and held various important posts

under the French government at different times. His works on Nat

ural History are of the greatest value.

Vynomre : The constellation of the Lesser Bear, containing the star near

the North Pole, by which sailors steer. It is used, in a figurative

sense, as synonjrmous with pole-star or guide, or any thing to which the

eyes of many are directed.

De Tocquemlle : See Tocgueville.

Diamond cement : A cement sold in the shops, and used for mending

broken glass and similar articles.

Drab : A thick woolen cloth, of a light brown or dun color. The name

is sometimes used for the color itself.

Dredgingiox : A box with holes in the top, used to sift or scatter flour on

meat when roasting.

Drill : (In husbandry,) to sow grain in rows, drills, or channels ; the row

of grain so sowed.

Duchess of Orleans : See Orleans.

The JUast, and the Eastern States : Those of the United States situated in

the north-east part of the country, including Maine, New-Hampshire,

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Vermont.

Elmation, (of a house :) A plan representing the upright view of a house,

as a ground-plan shows its appearance on the ground.

Euclid : A celebrated mathematician, who was born in Alexandria, in

Egypt, about two hundred and eighty years before Christ. He dis-

tinguished himself by his writings on music and geometry. The most

celebrated of ' his works is his Elements of G-eometry, which is in

use at the present day. He established a school at Alexandria, which

became so famous that, from his time to the conquest of Alexandria by

the Saracens, (A.D. 646,) no mathematician was found who had not

studied at Alexandria. Ptolemy, Bang of Egypt, was one of his

pupils ; and it was to a question of this king, whether there was not a

shorter way of coming at geometry than by the study of his Elements,

that Euclid made the celebrated answer, " There is no royal path to

geometry."

Equator or equinoctial line : An imaginary line passing round the earth,

from east to west and directly under the sun, which always shines

nearly perpendictilarly down upon all countries situated near the

equator.

Evolve : To throw off, to discharge

.

GLOSSARY OF WORDS AND REFERENCES. 563

Exchequer : A court in England in wliicli tlie Chancellor presides, andwhere the revenues of and the debts due to the king, are recovered.This court was originally established by King William, (called " theConqueror,") who died A.D. 1087 ; .and its name is derived from acheckered cloth (French ecJdquier, a chess-board, checker-work) on thetable.

Excretion : Something discharged from the body, a separation of animalmatters.

Excrementitious : Consisting of matter excreted from the bpdy ; containing excrements.

Fahrenlieit, {Gabriel Daniel :) A celebrated natural philosopher, who wa«born at Dantzig, a.d. 1686. He made great improvements in the ther-

mometer, and his name is sometimes used for that instrumentFarinaceous : Mealy, tasting like meal.

Fell : To turn down on the wrong side the raw edges of a seam after it

has been stitched, run, or sewed, and then to hem or sew it to the cloth.

Festivals of the Jews, the three great annual : These were, the Feast

of the Passover, that of Pentecost, and that of Tabernacles ; on oc-

casion of which, all the males of the nation were required to visit the

temple at Jerusalem, in whatever part of the country they mightreside. See Exodus 33 : 14, 17 ; 34 : 33 ; Leviticus 33 : 4 ; Deuter-

onomy 16 : 16. The Passover was kept in commemoration of the de-

liverance of the Israelites from Egypt, and was so named because the

night before their departure the destroying angel, who slew all the

first-born of the Egyptians, passed over the houses of the Israelites

without entering them. See Exodus 13. The Feast of Pentecost was

, so called from a word meaning the fiftieth, because it was celebrated on

the fiftieth day after the Passover, and was instituted in commemoration

of the giving of the Law from Mount Sinai on the fiftieth day from the

departure out of Egypt. It is also called the Feast of Weeks, because

it was kept seven weeks after the Passover. See Exodus 34 : 33

;

Leviticus 23 : 15-31 ; Deuteronomy 16 : 9, 10. The Feast of Taber

nacles, or Feast of Tenta, was so called because it was celebrated un-

der tents or tabernacles of green boughs, and was designed to com

memorate their dwelling in tents during their passage through the

wilderness. At this feast they also returned thanks to God for the

fruits of the earth after they had been gathered. See Exodus 33

16 ; Leviticus 23 : 34-44 ; Deuteronomy 16 : 13 ; and also St. John 7 : 3

FvreMght : A disease in the pear and some other fruit-trees, in which

they appear burnt as if by fire. It is supposed by some to be caused

by an insect, others suppose it to be caused by an over-abundance ol

sap.

Fhiting-iron : An instrument for making flutes, channels, furrows, or hoi

lows in ruffles, etc.

564 GLOSSA.BT OF WORDS AND SEFERENCES.

Foundation muslin : A nice kind of buckram, stiff and white, used for the

foundation or basis of bonnets, etc.

Free States : A plirase formerly used to distinguish tliose States in wbich

slavery was not allowed, as distinguished from Slave States, in which

slavery did exist.

French cliMlc : A variety of the mineral called talc, unctuous to the touch,

of greenish color, glossy, soft, and easily scratched, and leaving a

silvery line when drawn on paper. It is used for marking on cloth, and

extracting grease-spots.

Fuller's earth : A species of clay remarkable for its property of absorbing

oil, for wHch reason it is valuable for extracting grease from cloth,

etc. It is' used by fullers in scouring and cleansing cloth, whence its

name.

Fustic : The wood of » tree which grows in the West-Indies called

Morus tinctoria. It affords a ûrable but not very brilliant yellow

dye, and is also used in producing some greens and drab colors.

Gatiric : (From the Greek yaarrlp, gaster, the belly,) belonging or relating

to the belly, or stomach. Oastric juice : The fluid which dissolves the

food in the stomach. It is limpid, like water, of a saltish taste, and

without odor.

Geology : The science which treats of the formation of the earth.

Gluten : The glue-like, sticky, tenacious substance which gives adhesiveness

to dough. The principle of gelly, (now generally written jelly.)

Gore : A triangular piece of cloth. Goring : Cut in a triangular shape.

Gothic : A peculiar and strongly-marked style of architecture, sometimes

called the ecclesiastical style, because it is most frequently used in

cathedrals, churches, abbeys, and other religious edifices. Its principle

seems to have origiaated in the imitation of groves and bowers, under

which the ancients performed their sacred rites ; its clustered pillars and

pointed arches very well representing the trunks of trees and their in-

locking branches.

Gourmand or Gormand : A glutton, a greedy eater. In agriculture, it

is applied to twigs which take up the sap but bear only leaves.

Green vitriol : See Copperas.

Griddle : An iron pan, of a peculiarly broad and shallow construction,

used for baking cakes.

Grmindplan : The map or plan of the floor of any building, in whichthe various apartments, windows, doors, fire-places, and other things

are represented, like the rivers, towns, mountains, roads, etc., on a map.

Glim AraMe: A vegetable juice which exudes' through the bark of tha

Acacia, Mimoia nUotica, and some other similar trees growing in

Arabia, Egypt, Senegal, and Central Africa. It is the purest of all

gums.

Hardpcm : The hard, unbroken layer of earth below the mould or culti-

vatea soil

GLOSSARY OF WORDS AND REFERENCES. 565

Bartslwm, (spirits of:) A volatile alkali, originally preparea from tlie

hems of the stag or itart, but now procured from various othersubstances. It is knovifn by the name of ammonia or spirits of

ammonia.

Hemlock : see Oicuta.

Horticulturist : One skilled in horticulture, or the art of cultivating gar-dens : horticulture being to the garden what agriculture is to the farm,the apphcatiou of labor" and science to a limited spot, for convenience,for profit, or for ornament—though implying a higher state of cultivar

tion than is common in agriculture. It includes the cultivation of

culinary vegetables and of fruits, and forcing or exotic gardening as far

as respects useful products.

Hydrogen: A very light, inflammable gas, of which water is in psrtcomposed. It is used to inflate balloons.

Hypochondriam : Melancholy, dejection, a disorder of the imagination, in

which the person supposes he is afflicted with various diseases.

Hysteria or hysterics : A spasmodic, convulsive affection of the nerves,

to which women are subject. It is somewhat similar to hypochondriasis

in men.

Ingrain : A kind of carpeting, in which the threads are dyed in the grain

or raw material before manufacture.

Ipecac : (An ahbreviation o{ ipecacuanTui,) an Indian medicinal plant, act-

ing as an emetic.

Isinglass : A fine kind of gelatin or glue, prepared from the swimmingsbladders of fishes, used as a cement, and also as an ingredient iu food

and medicine. The name is sometimes applied to a transparent mineral

substance called mica.

Jams ; A side-piece or post.

KamtscJiadales : Inhabitants of KamtscTiMha, a large peninsula situated

on the north-eastern coast of Asia, having the North Pacific Ocean on

the east. It is remarkahle for its extreme cold, which is heightened by

a range of very lofty mountains extending the whole length of the pen-

insvila, several of which are volcanic. It is very deficient iu vegetable

productions, but produces a great variety of animals, from which the

richest and most valuable furs are procured. The inhabitants are in

general below the common height, ,but have broad shoulders and large

heads. It is under the dominion of Russia.

Kerosene : Refined Petroleum, which see.

Kinfc : A knotty twist in a thread or rope.

Lambrequin : Originally a kind of pendent scarf or covering attached to a

.

helmet to protect and adorn it. Hence, a pendent ornamental curtain

over a window.

Lapland : A country at the extreme north part of Europe, where it is verj

cold. It contains lofty mountains, some of which are covered with pei

petua] snow and ioe.^

566 GLOSSAET Of WORDS AND REFERENCES.

Latin : The language of the Latins or inhabitants of Latium, tha

principal country of ancient Italy. After the building of Rome, that

city became the capital of the whole country.

Leguminous : Pod-bearing.

Lent : A fast of the Christian Church, (lasting forty days, from Ash-

Wednesday to Easter,) in commemoration of our Saviour's miraculous

fast of forty days and forty nights in the wilderness. The word Lent

means spring, this fast always occurring at that season of the year.

Lemte : One of the tribe of Levi, the son of Jacob, wliicli tribe was set

apart from the others to minister in the services of the Tabernacle, and

the Temple at Jerusalem. The priests were taken from this tribe. See

Numbers 1 : 47-53.

Ley : Water which has percolated through ashes, earth, or other sub-

stances, dissolving and imbibing a part of their contents It is pfen-

erally spelled lye.

LinncBUs, {C/ig/rles ;) A native of Sweden, and the most celebrated natu-

ralist of his age. He was bom May 13th, 1707, and died January llth,

1778. His life was devoted to the study of natural history. The

science of botany, in particular, is greatly indebted to his labors. His

Amanitates Academicoe (Academical Recreations) is a collection of

the dissertations of his pupils, edited by himself, a work rich in mat-

ters relating to the history and habits of plants. He was the first whoarranged Natural History into a regular system, which has been gen-

erally called by his name. His proper name was Linne.

Lobe : A division, a distinct part;generally applied to the two divisions

of the lungs.

Loire : The largest river of France, being about five hundred and fifty

miles in length. It rises in the mountains of Ceveunes, and empties

into the Atlantic Ocean about forty miles below the city of Nantes.

It divides France into two almost equal parts.

London Medical Society : A distinguished association, formed in 1773.

It has published some valuable volirmes of its transactions. It has

a library of about 40,000 volimies, which is kept in a house presented

to the Society, in 1788, by the celebrated Dr. Lettsom, who was one of

its first members.

Louis XIV. : A celebrated King of France and Navarre, who was bomSeptember 5th, 1638, and died September 1st, 1715. His mother having

before had no children, though she had been married twenty-two years,

his birth was considered as a particular favor from heaven, and he wascalled the " Gift of God." He is sometimes styled " Louis the Groat,"

and his reign is celebrated as an era of magnificence and learning, and

is notorious as a period of licentiousness. He left behind Mm monu-

ments of unprecedented splendor and expense, consisting of palaces,

gardens, and other like works.

QLOSSAMT OF WORDS AND REFERENCES. 567

T/wmbwr : (From the Latin lumbus, tlie loin,) relating or pertaining to

tlie loins.

Lunac]/, torit of: A judicial proceeding to ascertain whetlier a person

be a lunatic.

Mademoiselle : The Frenoli word for miss, a young girl. ;

Magnesia : A light and wldte alkaline earth, wliich enters into the

composition of many rocks, communicating to them a greasy or soapy

feeling and a striped texture, with sometimes a greenish color.

Ifalaria : (Italian, mal'aria, bad air,) a. noxious vapor or exhalation ; a

state of the atmosphere or soil, or both, which, in certain regions andin warm weather, produces fever, sometimes of great violence.

Mammon : Riches, the Syrian god of riches. See Luke 16 : 11-13 ; St.

Matthew 6 : 34.,

Mexico : A country situated south-west of the United States and extend-

ing to the Pacific Ocean.

Miasms : Such particles or atoms as are supposed to arise from distem

pered, putrefying, or poisonous bodies.

Michilimackinae or Mackinae : (Now frequently corrupted into Mack-

inaw, which is the usual pronunciation of the name,) a military post

in the State of Michigan, situated upon an island, about nine miles in

circuit, in the strait which connects Lakes Michigan and Huron. It

is much resorted to by Indians and fur-traders. The highest summit

of the island is about three hundred feet above the lakes and com-

mands an extensive view of them.

Midsummer: With us, the time when the sun arrives at his greatest

distance from the equator, or about the twenty-first of June, called

also the summer solstice, (from the Latin sol, the sun, and sto, to stop or

stand still,) because when the sun reaches this point he seems to stand

still for some time, and then appears to retrace his steps. The days

are then longer than at any other time.

Migrate : To remove from one place to another ; to change residence.

Mildew : A disease of plants ; a mould, spot, or stain in paper, "cloths,

etc., caused by moisture.

Militate : To oppose, to operate against.

MUlinet : A coarse kind of stiff muslin, formerly used for the foundation

or basis of bonnets, etc. »

MineraZogy : A science which treats of the inorganic natural substances

found upon or in the earth, such as earths, salts, metals, etc., and

which are called by the general name of minerals.

Minutim : The smallest particulars.

Monasticism : Monastic life ; religiously recluse life in a monastery or

house of religious retirement.

Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley : One of the most celebrated among the

female literary characters of England. She was daughter of Evelyn,

Duke of Kingston, and was born about 1690, at Thoresby, in England

oG8 GLOSSAST OF WORDS AND REFERENCES.

SLe displayed uncommon abilities at a very early age, and was edn

cated by the best masters in tlie English, Latin, Greek, and French

languages. She accompanied her husband (Edward Wortley Montagu)

on an embassy to Constantinople, and hej; correspondence with hei

friends was published and much admired. She introduced the practice

of inoculation for the small-pox into England, which proved of great

benefit to millions. She died at the age of seventy-two, a.d. 1762.

Moral Philosophy : The science which treats of the motives and rules

of human actions, and of the ends to which they ought to be directed.

Moreen : A kind of woolen stuff used for curtains, covers of cushions,

bed hangings, etc.

Mortise : A cavity cut into a piece of timber to receive the end of another

piece called the Tenon.

Mucous : Having the nature of mucus, a glutinous, sticky, thready,

transparent fluid, of a salt savor, produced by different membranes of

the body, and serving to protect the membranes and other internal

parts against the action of the air, food, etc. The fluid of the mouth

and nose is mucus.

Mucous membrane : That membrane which lines the mouth, nose, intes-

tines, and other open cavities of the body.

Muriatic acid : An acid composed 'of chlorine and hydrogen, called also,

hydrochloric acid and spirit of salt.

Muah-stick : A stick to use in stirring mush, which is corn-meal boiled in

water.

Nankeen or Nanhin : A light cotton cloth, originally brought from

Nankin, in China, whence its name.

Nash, (Rieha/rd :) Commonly called Beau Nash, or King of Bath, a cele-

brated leader of the fashions in England. He was born at Swansea, in

South-Wales, October 8th, 1674, and died in the city of Bath, (England,)

February 8d, 1761.

Natural History : The history of anifcals, plants, and minerals.

Natural Philosophy : The science which treats of the powers of nature,

the properties of natural bodies, and their action one 'upon another. It

is sometimes called physics.

New-milch cow : A cow which has recently calved.

Newten, {Sir Isaac :) An eminent English philosopher and mathematician,

who was born on Christmas day, 1642, and died March 20th, 1727. Hewas much distinguished for his very important discoveries in Optics

and other branches of Natural Philosophy. See the first volume of Pur-suit of Knowledge under Difficulties, forming the fourteenth volumeof The School Lihra/ry, larger series.

Nighi-SoU : Human excrement, so-called because usually removed from

privies by night.

Nonrbearers : Plants which bear no flowers nor fruit.

GLOSSAUr OF WORDS A.ND REFEBBNOES. 569

Northern States : Those of the United States situated in the northernand eastern part of the country.

Ordina/ry : See Physioian in ordinary.

Oil of Vitriol: (sulphuric add, or vitriolic acid,) an acid composed of

oxygen and sulphur.

(Hno-mania : Adiseaseof the brain produced by excessive use of alcoholic

stimulants ; derived from two Greek words, ainos, wine, and mania,

madness. The same disease sometimes arises from overuse of tobacco

and other stimulants of the nerves.

Orleans, (EWzdbetTi Gharloite de Bavi^re,) Duo?iess of: Second wife of

PMlippe, the brother of Louis XIV., was born at Heidelberg, May 26th,

1653, and died at the palace of St. Cloud, in Paris, December 8th, 1733.

She was author of several works ; among which were Memoirs andAnecdotes of the Court of Louis XIV.

Ottoman : A kind of hassock or thick mat for kneeling upon ; so-called

from being used by the Ottomans or Turks.

Oxalic acid : a vegetable acid, which exists in sorrel.

Oxide : A compound of a substance with oxygen, though not enoughoxygen to produce an acid ; for example, oxide of iron, or rust of metals.

Oxidize : To combine oxygen with a body without producing acidity.

Oxygen : The vital element of air, a simple and very important substance

which exists in the atmosphere and supports the breathing of animals

and the burning of combustibles. It was called oxygen from two Greek

words, signifying to produce acid, from its power of giving acidity to

many compounds in which it predominates.

Oxygenized : Combined with oxygen.

Pancreas : A gland within the abdomen just below and behind the

stomach, and providing a fluid to assist digestion. In animals, it is

called the sweet-bread. Pancreatic : Belonging to the pancreas.

Parterre : A level division of ground, a flower-garden.

Pea/rlash: The common name for impure carbonate of potash, which in a

purer form is called Saleratus.

Peristaltic : Contracting in successive circles ; worm-like.

Petroleum : Kock oil, an inflammable, bituminous liquid exuding from

rocks or from the earth in the neighborhood of the carboniferous oi

. coal-bearing formation.

Phosphorus : One of the elementary substances.

Physician in Ordinary to the Queen : The physician who attend* the

Queen in ordinary cases of illness.

Pitt, William : A celebrated English statesman, son of the Earl of Chat-

ham. He was born May 38th, 1759, and at the age of twenty-three was

made Chancellor of the Exchequer, and soon afterward Prime Minis-

ter. He died January 33d, 1806.

Political Mconomy : The science which treats of the general causes aflfeet-

incr the production, distribution, and consumption of articles of ex-

570 GLOSSARY OF WORDS AND REFERENCES.

changeable value, in reference to their effects upon national wealth and

welfare.

Pollen : The fertilizing dust of flowers, produced by the stamens and

falling upon the pistils inorder to render a flower capable of produc-

ing fruit or seed.

Potter's clay : The clay used in making articles of pottery.

Prairie : A French word, signifying meadow. In the United States, it is

applied to the remarkable natural meadows or plains which are found

in the Western States. In some of these vast and nearly level plains,

the traveler may wander for days without meeting with wood or

water, and see no object rising above the plane of the horizon. They

are very fertile.

Prime Minister : The person appointed by the ruler of a nation to have

the chief direction and management of the public affairs.

Process : A protuberance or projecting part of a bone.

Pulmonary : Belonging to or affecting the lungs. Pulmona/ry artery

:

An artery which passes through the lungs, being divided into several

branches, which form a beautiful network over the air-vessels, and

finally empty themselves into the left auricle of the heart.

Puritans : A sect which professed to follow the pur^word of God in op-

position to traditions, human constitutions, and other authorities. In

the reign of Queen Elizabeth, part of the Protestants were desirous of

introducing a simpler, and, as they considered it, a purer form of

church government and worship than that established by law, from

which circumstance they were caUed Puritans. In process of time,

this party increased in numbers and openly broke off from the church,

laying aside the English liturgy, and adopting a service-book published

at Geneva by the disciples of Calvin. They were treated with great

rigor by the government, and many of them left the kingdom and set-

tled in Holland. Finding themselves not so eligibly situated in that

country as they had expected to be, a portion of them embarked for

America, and were the first settlers of New-England.

Quixotic : Absurd, romantic, ridiculous ; from Don Quixote, the hero of a

celebrated fictitious work written by Cervantes, a distinguished Spanish

writer, and intended to reform the tastes and opinions of his country-

men.

Reeking : Smoking, emitting vapor.

Residuum : The remainder or part which remains.

Routine : A round or course of engagements, business, pleasure, etc.

To Run a seam : To lay the two edges of a seam together and pass the

threaded needle out and in, with small stitches, a few threads below the

edge and on a line with it.

To Run a stocking : To pass a thread of yarn, vrith a needle, straight

along each row of the stocking, as far as is desired, taking up one loop

GLOSSABT OF WORDS AKD REFERENCES. 571

and missing two or three, until the row is completed, so as to doublethe thickness at the part which is run.

Sabbatical year : Every seventh year among the Jews, which was a year

of rest for the land, when it was to be left without culture. In this

year, all debts were to be remitted, and slaves set at liberty. 8ee Exodus 21 : 2 ; 23 : 10 ; Leviticus 25 : 2, 3, etc. ; Deuteronomy 15 : 12 ; andother similar passages.

Saieratus : See Pearlash.

Sai ammoniae : A salt, called also muriate of ammonia, which derives its

name from a district in Libya, Egypt, where there was a temple of Ju-

piter Ammon, and where this salt was found.

Scotch Highlanders : Inhabitants of the Highlands of Scotland

Sehedge : The edge of cloth, a border. Improperly written aehage.

Service-book ; A book prescribing the order of public services in a church

or congregation.

Sluvrpa : See Blunts.

Sliorts : The coarser part ofwheat bran.

Shrubbery : A plantation of shrubs.

Siberia : A large country in the extreme northern part of Asia, having

the Frozen Ocean on the north, and the Pacific Ocean on the east, and

forming a part of the Russian empire. The northern part is extremely

cold, almost, uncultivated, and contains but few inhabitants. It fur-

nishes fine skins, and some of the most valuable furs in the world. It

also contains rich mines of iron and copper, and several kinds of

precious stones.

Sinclair, Sir John : Of whom it was said, " There is no greater name in

the annals of agriculture than his," was bom in Caithness, Scotland,

May 10th, 1754, and became a member of the British Parliament in 1780.

He was strongly opposed to the measures of the British government

toward America, which produced the American Revolution. He was

author of many valuable publications on various subjects. He died'

December 21st, 1835.

Sirloin : The loin of beef. The appellation " sir " is the title of a knight

or baronet, and has been added to the word " loin," when applied to

beef, because a king of England, in a freak of good humor, once con-

ferred the honor of knighthood upon a loin of beef.

Slack : To loosen, to relax, to deprive of cohesion.

Soda : An alkali, usually obtained from the ashes of marine plants.

To Spade : To throw out earth with a spade.

Spermaceti : An oily sabstance found in the head of a species of whale

called the spermaceti whale.

Spindling : Shooting into a long, pmall stalk.

Spinous process : A process or bony protuberance, resembling a spine or

thorn, whence it derives its name.

572 GLOSSARY Off WORDS AND REFERENCES.

Spool : A piece of cane or reed or a hollow cylinder of wood, witli a ridge

at each end, used to wind yarn and thread upon.

Stamen, (plural, stwmens and stamina ;) In weamng, the warp, the thread,

any thing made of threads. In 'botany, that part of a flower on which

the artificial classification is founded, consisting of the filament or stalk,

and the anther, which contains the pollen or fructifying powder.

Stigma, (plural stigmas and stigmata :) The summit or top of the pistil of

a flower.

Style or Stile : The part of the pistil between the germ and the stigma.

Sub-ca/rbonate : An imperfect carbonate.

Sulpliates, Sulphata, Sulphites : Salts formed by the combination of some

base with sulphuric acid, as Sulpliate of copper, (blue vitriol or blue

stone,) a combination of sulphuric acid with copper. Sulpliate of iron

:

Copperas or green vitriol. Sulphate of lime : Gypsum or plaster of

Paris. Sulphate of magnetia : Epsom salts. Sulphate of potash : Achemical salt, composed of sulphmic acid and potash. Sulphate of soda

:

Glauber's salts. SniVphate of zinc : White vitriol.

Sulphuret : A combination of an alkaline earth or metal with sulphur,

as Sulphuret of iron, a combination of iron and sulphur.

Sulphuric acid : Oil of vitriol, vitriolic acid.

Suture : A sewing ; the uniting of parts by stitching ; the seam oi joint

which unites the flat bones of the skull, which are notched like the

teeth of a saw, and the notches, being united together, present the

appearance of a seam.

Tartar : A substance, deposited on the inside of wine casks, consisting

chiefly of tartaric acid and potass. Cream of tartar : The crude tartar

separated from all its impurities by being dissolved in water and then

crystallized, when it becomes a perfectly white powder.

Ta/rta/ric acid : A vegetable acid which exists in the grape.

Tecknology : A description of the arts, considered generally in their

theory and practice as connected with moral, political, and physical

science.

7%ree-plj/ or triple ingrain : A kind of carpeting, in which the threads

are woven in such a manner as to make three thicknesses of the cloth.

Tie douloureux : A painful affection of the nerves, mostly those of the

face.

TocquemUe, {Alexis de:) A celebrated statesman and writei of France,

and author of volumes on the political condition, and the peniten-

tiaries of the United States, and other works.

Trachea : The windpipe, so named (from a Greek word signifying rough)

from the roughness or inequalities of the cartilages of which it is

formed.

Tnuikleied or Trundleied: A bed that runs on wheels.

TWer : A solid, fleshy, roundish root, like the potato. Tuberous : Tliick

and fleshy ; composed of or having tubers.

glossaut of words and ruferenoes. -' 573

TWAs, (improperly Tacks) : Folds in garments.

Turmeric : The root of a plant called Gv/rcuma longa, a native of the Ea»tIndies, used as a yellow dye.

Twaddle : Idle, foolish talk or conversation.

Unbolted: Unsifted.

Unslacked : Not loosened or deprived of cohesion. Lime, when it hsMbeen slacked, crumbles to powder from being deprived of cohesion.

Valance : The drapery or fringe hanging round the cover of a bed, couch,or other similar article.

Vascular : Relating to or full of vessels.

Venetian : A kind of carpeting, composed of a striped woolen warp on a

thick woof of linen thread.

Verisimilitude : Probability, resemblance to truth.

Verbatim : Word for word.

Vice versa: The side being changed, or the question reversed, or the

terms being exchanged.

Viscera, (plural of mscus :) Organs contained in the great cavities of the

body, the skull, the abdomen, and the chest. Generally applied to the

contents of the abdomen.

Vitriol : A compound mineral salt of a very caustic taste. Blue Vitriol,

sulphate of copper. Oreen Vitriol, see Copperas. Oil of Vitriol, sul-

phuric acid. W7dte Vitriol, sulphate of zinc.

Waffl&won : An iron utensil for the purpose of baking waffles, which are

thin and soft cakes Indented by the iron in which they are baked.

WashAeailhcr : A soft, pliable leather dressed with oil, and in such a waythat it may be washed without shrinking. It is used for various arti-

cles of dress, as undershirts, drawers, etc., and also for rubbing sil-

ver, and other aiticles having a high polish. The article known in

commerce as chamois or shammy leather is also called wash-leather.

Welting-cord : A cord sewed into the welt or border of a garment.

The West or Western World. When used in Europe, or in distinction

from the Eastern World, it means America. When used in this conn-

try, the West refers to the Western States of the Union. Western

Wilds : The wild, thinly-settled lands of the Western States.

White tiitriol: see Zinc.

Wilton carpet : A kind of carpets made in England, and so called from

the place which is the chief seat of their manufacture. They aie w>ool-

en velvets with variegated colors.

Writ of lunacy. See Lunacy.

Xantippe : The wife of Socrates, noted for her violent temper and scolding

propensities. The name is frequently applied to a shrew, or peevish

turbulent, scolding woman.

Zime : A bluish-white metal, which is used as a constituent of brass and

some other alloys. BuXpliaie of Zdnc or White vitriol : A combination

of zinc vrith sulphuric acid.

INDEX:ANALYTICAL AND ALPHABETICAL.

PART I.

Absorbents of the skin, 151.

Accidents and antidotes, 348-352.

Accounts, 239.

Acids, 350, 351.

Air, evils of the want of pure, 42,

49-58. Exercise in the, 24.

Change of, for infants, 270. Ofsick-rooms, 339. fise Ventilation.

Albany Orphan Asylum, 275.

Alcholic drinks, 138-142. See Stim-

ulating.

America, anticipations as to, 210.

Conspicuous station of, 211.

Labor in, 211. Domestic labor

in, 307-314, 333, 334.

American women, their equality,

316. Too little exercise, 314.

Precedence given to, by the

other sex, 201. Must becomeinstructors to their servants, 314.

Amusements, 287-302.

Anger, on sUence in, 215, 216. See

Temper and Tones.

Animal food, 124,131,136. For

young children, 276. See Food.

Animals, 393-402.

Anthracite coal, 82.

Ants, red and black, 377.

Anxiety, a countenance of, 213.

Appetite of the sick not to be

tempted, 339.

Appetites, gratification of the, 223.

Apple-trees, preserving from insects,

392.Apportionment of time, 222,225,247.

By regular division of work, 226.

Jewish, 210.

Argand burners, 362.Aristocracy, English, 249- The

prejudice of, as to labor, 191.Courtesy of, limited, 300. Man-ners of democracy and, 200.Domestics of, 321.

Arm, muscles of the, 113, 114.Arsenic, poisoning from, 350.Arteries, tying up, 348Associated charities, 243, 244.

B

Baglivi, on health during Lent,132.

Balls, 290.

Baskets, 375. Hanging, for flowers,

95, 96.

Bath, on using the, 156.

Bathing infants, 269, 270. SeeWashing.

Bathing-rooms, 86, 446.

Beaumont, Dr., experiments by, onthe digestibility of food, 136,

note.

Beauty in the house, 84^103.Bed-bugs, 377.

Bedrooms, care of, 369, 370.

Beds and bedding, 30, 31, 369. Onmaking, 370.

Bees, 401.

Benevolence, 233-335. Bee Charity.Bituminous coal, 361.

Black ants, 377.

Bleeding at the lungs, stomach, or

throat, 351.

Blindness, guarding against, 369Blisters, on dressing, 341.

576 AJfALTTICAL INDEX.

Blood, details as to the circulation

of the, 106, 107. Effect of day-

light on the, 193 ; of exercise, 115.

Crowded to the brain when oneis excited. 111. When a cause

of mental disease, 256, 357. Stop-

ping, 348, 351. When dancing,

390. See Circulation.

Blood-vessels, 44-46, 107.

Brealtfast-tea, 188.

Body, change and renovation of

the, 131,133. Connection of mindand, 355. See Mind.

Boldness in domestics, 380.

Bones, described, 158-159.

Bowels, 335-338, note.

Bowls and vases for growingplants, 99.

Boys, small, made useful, 328. Do-mestic arts taught to, 339. SeeChildren.

Brain, 108. Excitement of the, 355.

Over-action of the, 258.

Bread, 170. Aerating, 171-178.

Mixing, 174. Baking, 175.

Breakfast, late, 195.

Broadcloths, cutting, 358.

Broken limbs, 349.

Bruises, 348Budding, hints on, 385.

Bulbs, 384.

Burne, Dr., cited, 336.

Burns, treatment of, 349.

Butler, Fanny Kemble, on theatres,

2Dl.

Butter, 176. Bad, in America, 177.

How to make good, 178.

Buttonholes, 358.

Byron, Lord, 260.

Cakes, keeping till meal-time, 376.Candles, 363. To make, 365.

Caps for infants forbidden, 369.Card-playing, 291.

Castle-building, 359.Caterpillars, 393.

Cathartics, 836, 388.Cathohcs, health of, during Lent,

133. Wood works of, 450, 458.Cellars, veg'etables in dark, 192.On the care of, 876. Ventilationof, in model cottage, 437.

Cell-life, 10.5-107.

Chambers, care o , 869. Couches

for, 30, 31. Furniture for, 36.

Ventilation of, in model cottage,

437. In city house, 441-i46.Character, dependence of happiness

on, 234, 235. Self-denying benevolence of Christ's, 234.

Charcoal, 861.

Charity, Sisters of, 346.

Charity, 118. On giving in, 333-346. Difficulty respecting, 333.

General principles respecting,

235. Objects for receiving, 342.

For souls of men, 343, 343. Byfurnishing the poor with meansof earning support, 243. Associa-

~ tions for, 244. Indiscriihinate be-

stowal of, 244. Benefit of districts

in distributing, 245. On judgingof other people's, 246.

Cliildren, washing, 157. Living in

the dark, 192. Early retiring

and rising of, 195. Cultivation of

good manners in, 203. Too greatfamiliarity with, 204, 279. Shouldacknowledge acts of kindness,305 ; ask leave to use others' arti-

cles, 305 ; avoid wounding others'

feelings, 305, 283 ; to be taughtto keep silence, 207 ; do not sur-

round with too many rules, 282.

On making allowances for, 285.

Waiting on, 238. On makinguseful, 339, 330. On paying, for

services, 339, 283. On givingyounger, to older, 230. Precocityin, 358. Eating too often, 376.

To be guarded as to dishonesty,deceit, impurity, and running indebt, 385. Sharing fruits andflowers, 395. See Boys, Girls, aiid

Young cliildren.

Chinese, regard for old age, 806.

Preservation of fertiMzing matter,

408.

Chimneys, smoky, 76, 79.

Chocolate, 189.

Christianity, principles of, identical

with democratic, 300, 201.

Chromes, 91.

Churches, ill-ventilated, 55.

Circulation, in the skin of infants,

165, 168. Effect of cold on, 113.In the aged, 166, 805. See Blood.

Clarke, Dr., on animal diet for veryyoung children, 275.

Heanliness, 151, 157. Of the sick,

839.

ANALYTICAL INDEX. 577

Closets, of conveniences, 227. Slid-

ing, 444. Earth, 403-418.Clotliing and clotlies, 159-166. De-

ficiency of, for infants, 2n9. Ruleas to quantity of, 105, 166. BeeDress, and Tight dressing.

Coal, 301.

Cockroaches, 877.

Coffee. See Tea.Culd, on exposure to, 165, 166.

Cold and hot, food, 135. Drinks145.

Collecting of specimens, 297.

Colleges, physicians in, 258.

Colors for different complexions,856.

Combe, Andrew, on drinks, 145,

146. On exercising tlie brain,

259. On infants, 265-268. Onthe bowels, 880.

Complexions, colors for the diffe-

rent, 856.

Condiments in food, 183, 190.

Confectionery, 189.

Conservatories, 41.

Constipation, 337, note.

Conveniences, on providing, 228.

For cooking, 373. For the sick

room, 839. Close packing of.

Chap. II.

Cooking, 167-190.

Cowper, quoted, 460.

Cooper, Sir Astley, cited, 255.

Corrosive sablimate,poisoning from,

350.

Corsets, 164.

Couches, cheap, 80, 31.

Courtesy, want of, 197 ; causes of it,

198. See Democracy.Cows, to take care of, 397.

Creeping of infants, 271.

Cribs for infants, 269.

Crickets, 877.

Crockery for the kitchen, 373.

Cruelty in amusements, 287.

Crying of infants, 371,

Ciirculios, 392.

CJurrants, 890.

Curtains, 88, 867.

Curvature. See Spine.

Cuts, remedies for, 348.

Cutting and sewing, 353-358.

D

Dancing, 388-390.

Daughters, as domestic assistants,

309. Educated to domestic work,814. ^ce Girls.

Day, on converting into night, 191.

Infiueuce of, on vegetables andblood, 193.

Debt, on running into, 285.Decoration, home, 84-103.Democracy of early rising, 191.

Principles of, identical with Chris-tian, 200. Tendencies of, as to thefemale sex, 201. Courtesy of man-ners and, 209, 310.

Derangement from over-excite-

ment, 257.

Diet. See Food.Digestion, organs of, 128. Details- respecting, 133-135. Articles

easiest for, 183. Experimentsrespecting, 136. Bulk of food^

necessaiy to, 136.

Dirt not healthy, 157.

Dish-cloths, 872.

Dishes, on washing, 373, 373,Dolls, benefits from, 298.

Domestic amusements, 387-800.Domestic exercise, 113-118.

Domestic economy, indispensable

part of education, 14.

Domestic duties, dignity of, 220.

Domestic servants, peculiar difficul-

ties as to, in America, 318. Onmaking allowances for, 337-330.

Care of, 307-834. Of aristocratic

lands, 331. Placing ourselves in

their situation, 337. Exorbitantwages of, 838. Instability anddiscontent of, and the remedy,329. Pride and insubordination

of, and the remedy, 330. Boldand forward, 380. Dress androoms of, 833. Finding fault

with, 331. Beds for, 370.

Domestic service, cause of its beingavoided by American girls, 322.

Dress, too much attention to, 331.

Of domestics, 833, 330. SeeClothing.

Drinks, on healthful, 188-149.

Drowning, 349.

Dumb-waiters, 446.

Dusting, 369.

E

Early rising, 191-196. Democra,tic,

191. Reasons for, 193. Longevi-^ ty and, 195. Effects of, on a fami

578 ANALYTICAL INDEX.

ly, 195 ; on the community, 196;

on systematic duty, 231.

Earth-closets, 403-418.Eartlien-ware, 378.

Eating, intemperance in, 137. Toofast, 184. Should not be follow-

ed by exercise, 184. See Food.Economy, valuable only for com-

fort, 314.

Education in America, 311.

Employment for the different divi-

sions of a week, 236, 237. Onregular, for all the family, 338.

PJnjoyments. jSeeAmusements andHappiness.

Equality. See Democracy, Sexes,mid Women.

Establishments, expensive, givenup, 243.

Exercise, 113-118. Neglect of, 387.

Indispensable to the health ofthe several parts of the humanframe, 116, 117. Of the muscles,113-115. Pood to be graduatedby, 130. After eating, bad, 184.

Evils of want of, 116. On fur-

nishing interesting, 117. Walk-ing for, 117. On excessive, of themind and feelings, 356-358. Toolittle, of intellect and feeling, 359.

Expenses, on keeping account of,

339.

Eyes, screening, from light, 365.Of infants', 369.

F

Family, on early rising in the, 195.

Fathers neglecting the, 300. Onattachments of, 800.

Fasting in sickness, 336.

Fault-finding, 331.

Feather beds, 370.

Feelings, inactivity of the, 259.

Feet, on protecting the, 166. Keep-ing those of infants warm, 369.

Figs, 890.

Filberts, 890.

Finger-nails, 306.

Fire, escaping from, 353.Fire-places and fires, 860, 861,

368.

Pishing, 387.

Pleas, 377.

Flies, on destroying, 377.

Flower-baskets, 98.

Flower seeds, on planting, 380.

Fluids, on taking, 136.

Food, on the conversion of, into

nourishment, 135. Responsibili-

ty as to, in a family, 119. Pro-portion of nutritive elements in,

124. On taking too much, 135,136. On one kind of, for eachmeal, 133. Quantity of, to begraduated by exercise, 130. Onthe quality of, 132. Stimulating,133. Animal and vegetable, 131,132. Kinds of, most easily di-

gested, 133. Injurious, from badcooking, 133. On eating, too fast,-

134. On exercise, after taking,134. , On hot and cold, 135. High-ly concentrated, 186. CertainT/ulk of, necessary to digestion,

136. For infants, 266. For nurses,

367. Sickness from improper,337. Preparing, for the sick,

341.

Foreigners, employed as domestics.

830.

Forewarning domestics, 331.

Forwardness of domestics, 330.

Frocks, to make, 355.

Fruit, on the cultivation of, 294,

389.

Fuel, hints as to, 360.

Furnaces, 79-83, 430.

G

Games of children, 297.

Garden seeds, to plant, 833.

Gardening, 381.

Gardens, on laying out, 382.

Gas, 362.

Gastric juice, 126.

Gathering, in shirts, 854.Girls, small, made useful, 230,

Forming habits of system, 232.

See Daughters.Gooseberries, 390.

Government of children, 378. Un-steadiness in, and . over-govern-ment, 381. Maxims on, 383, 38aSee Children, Subo.dinatipn, andYoung children.

Grafting, 886, 337Grapes, 391.

Grates, 861.

Gratifications, on physical, 226 287Grease in marble, 368.

ANALTTTCAL INDEX. 579

H

Habit, of system and order, 320-233. In infants, 371. Of thebowels, 838.

Haudliercliiefs, cleansing, 398.Happiness, dependence of, on cha-

racter, 234. On living to make,335. Connected with duties, 347,248.

Health, connection of exercise and,116 ; of the quantity of' food and,130 ; of the quality, 117. Of Ca-tholics during Lent, 133. Notfrom dirt, 157. Effect of earlyrising on, 193. On the duty ofsacrificing, 334. Causes whichinjure the mind's, 355. Amuse-ments and, 387. Laughter and,297. Ventilation and, 50-55. Con-nection of, with cellars, 876. SeeAir, Exercise, and Sickness.

Hearths, 368.Heart, 46.

'

Help, see Domestics.Horse-racing, 389.Horses, care of, 396, 397.Hospitality, on manifesting, 801,

802.

Hot and cold food and drinks, 135,145.

Hot-beds, 379.

Housekeepers, preservation of goodtemper in, 313-319. Allowancesto be made for, 318. Generalprinciples for, 314r-316. SeeAmerican women.

Housekeeping, dignity and difficul-

ty of, 312. See Labor.House-plants, to repot, 381.

Houses, on the construction of, 33-43, 441-446.

Hunger, 136. As a gxdde for tak-ing food, 130.

Hunting, 387.

Imagination, 199. Works of, 359,

393. See Novel-reading.

Impostors, soliciting charity, 344.

Impurity of thought, 385, 386.

Indigestion, 138-137. See Health.

Infants, mortality among, 266. Ongiving to tie older children, 238.

Use of, to elicit charity, 344. Ig-

norance of parents concerning,

363, 364. Importance of know-ing

,

how to take care of, 365.Combe, Bell, and Eberle on, cited,

365-268. Food for, 368. Medi-cines for, 267. Pure air for, 268.Keeping warm, 269. Keepingtheir heads qool, 369. Bathing,370. To creep, 371. Habits, 371.Teething, 373, 273. Constipa^tion, 273. Diarrhea, 274. Useof water in fever, 374. Crying,371. See Children cmd Mortali-ty.

Ingrafting, 386.

Insects, on destroying, 377. Pre-serving trees from, 893. Preserving domestic animals from,395.

Intemperance, in eating, 137. Indrinking, 138. Woman's respon-sibility as to, 149.

Ignorance, of architects, 63, 63. Ofparents concerning infants, 363-365. Of young girls concerningdangers of wrong dressing, 158.

Of domestic servants in America,830, 831.

Iron-ware, 873.

Jewish use of time, 349.

Jokes, 397.

Kernel of wheat, constituent partsof, 132.

Kerosene, 363.Kidneys, 154.

Kitchens, 85, 871-375. On takingcare Of, 371. Oil-cloths for, 371.Furniture for, 374.

Labeling powders, 343.

Labor, nobility of, 19, 31, 38. Out-door, 53. Domestic, 333-337.

Lambrequins, 88, 89.

Lamps, 363. Care of, 364.

Laughter, 397.

Laiindry, 39-41. Neighborhood,334. In city house, 446.

Lent, health during, 183.

Lewis Leeds, on ventilation, 484-

436,433.


Life, object of, 335.

Light, effects of, 193, 193. Screen-

ing eyes from, 369, 302.

Lifthtmng, 351.

Lightning-rods, 353.

Lights, 860.

Linens, 356.

Liquids, on taking, 136.

Literature, guarding, 393.

Longevity, Sinclair on, 195.

Louis XIV., manners of his age,

211.

Lungs, 44. Effects of tight-dress-

ing on the, 161. Bleeding at the,

351.

Luxuries. See Superfluities.

M

Mahogany furniture, 368.

Manners, good, 197. American de-

fect in, and cause of it, 198. Ofthe Puritans and their posterity,

199. Principles respecting, 300.

Proprieties in, 301. On cultiva-

tion of, 203. Leading points as

to, claiming attention, 204. Chil-

dren to be taught, 205. On con-

ventional, 306. At table, 207.

Charity for bad, 209. Of the ageof Louis XIV., 211. See Chil-

dren.

Manual labor of Christ, 18, 19.

Marble, stains on, 368.

Mattresses, 31, 370.

Meals, should be five hours apart,129. Time of English, 191, 192.

Meat, on eating, 133. Butcher-ing and trimming, 178. Wasteof^ in America, 179. Frencheconomy in, 180. Cooking, 181-185.

Mechanical amusements, 398.Medical men needed in literary in-

stitutions, 258.

Medicines, on giving to infants, 366.On administering, 336. Different

effects of different, 338, '340. La-beling, 342.

Men engaged in women's work,239.

Mending, 358.

Mental excitement, effect of, onhealth, 350-258. On reducingyouthful, 258. Effect of, on themind, 257 See Mind.

Mexicans, teeth of, 145.

Microscopic wonders in animal andvegetable cells, 105. In muscu-lar fibre, 113. In zymotic dis-

eases, 431. In alcoholic effects

on the brain, 140.

Milk, mothers', for infants, 266.

Milkweed-silk, 280.

Mind, connection of body and, 355.

Causes which injure the health

of the, 355-360. On inactivity of.

359. Indications of diseased, 861.

Wholesome occupation for, 360,

261. See Health and Mental excitement.

Mineralogical collections, 297.

Missions, 453.

Modesty in children, 285.

Moisture in heated rooms, 79-81,

425.

Money, children's earning. 239.

Morals in children, 286. See Chil-

dren and Toung children.

Mortality among infants, 266.

Causes of it, 267. At the AlbanyOrphan Asylum, 275. See In-

fants.

Mothers, should regulate daughters'dress, 165. Few qualified to train

children, 364. Influence of, 213-314. Teaching boys domesticarts, 239. See American womenand Women.

Movable screen, 28, 29.

Mucous membrane, 133.

Muscles, 113, 114. Exercise of the,

116,117,258. Excessive exercise

of, 117.

Music, 296.

Mosquitoes, 877.

N

Nails, cleaning, 307.Nash, Beau, biography of, a*3.Neatness, in housekeeping, 215. Of

sick-rooms, 340, 341. See Clean-liness.

Needle-work, bad economy in, 354.

Neftel, Dr. William, on the use ofwater in fevers, 274.

Nerves, 107-110. Ramification of

the, 110. Health of, dependenton muscular exercise. 111. Ex-cited by stimulating drinks, 138.

Exercise and inactivity of. 111Debility of, 112.


New-Englanders, one cause of tlieir

tact, 229. Early condition ofhome labor among, 308 - 310.

Present condition of domestic ser-

vice among, 311-313.Night, converting, into day, 191.

Night-gowns, 358.Night-lamps, 365.

Novel-reading, 292, 293.Nursery, 278, 279.

Nursery, soU for a, 379.Nursing, on food while, 267. Ofthe sick, 342-347.

O

Obedience of children, 279. SeeChildren and Government.

Objects of charity, 242.

Oils, 363-364.Oilcloths for kitchens, 371.Open fire-places, 419.

Opium, antidote for, 351.

Order, on a habit of, 220-232.Ornaments, 225.

Orphan Asylum at Albany, 274.Over-government, 281. See Chil-

dren and Government.

Packing of conveniences, 25, 441.

Pain, amusements causing, 287.

Pancreas, 154.

Parents, exercising of authority by,

280. Managing children, 275-286. Ignorance of, 263. Shouldprovide amusements, 203. Join-

ing in children's sports, 300.

Parlors, 867 308. How to furnish,

85-91. On the care of, 368.

Sweeping, 369.

Passions, the, 112. See Temper.Pelvic organs displaced by tight-

dressing, 162.

Peristaltic motion, 138.

Perspiration, 152, 154. As a cure

for illness, 338.

Physical education of children,

275. See Exercise and Health.

Physicians, obeying, 341.

Piano, playing on the, 296.

Pictures, 91, 93. Hanging andcleansing, 367.

PiUs, 338.

Plans, for apportioning time, 236.

For duties, 236, 228 For model

cottage, 25-43. For Christiancity tenement, 441-446. Forchurch, school-house, and family,dwelling in one building, 455-458.

Planting, flower-seeds, 380. Gar-den-seeds, 381.

Plants, collecting, 295, 296. Soil

for, 379. Propagation of, 384.

See Flowers and Seeds.

Poisoning, 350, 351. Household,43.

Politeness. See Courtesy and Manners.

Poor, Mosaic laws as to the, 249.

On work for the, 243. See Cha-rity.

Pores. See Skin.

Positions, effects of, 160.

Potato, 185, 186.

Pot-plants, soil for, 381.

Pots, transplanting from, 881.

Poultry, 400.

Powders, labeling, 343.

Precocity in children, 258.

Preservation of the aged, 803.

Propagation of plants, 34.

Propensities, 336.

Property, Jews' use of, 349. Un-equal distribution of, 251. OnBharing, 353. On using, proper-

ly, 353, 354.

Pruning, 387, 388.

Punctuality and want of it, 196.

Puritans, manners of the, 197.

Quality of food, 133, 133.

Quantity of food, 130. See Food.

E

Rats, 378.

Reciprocal action of plants and ani

mals, 48, 49.

Red ants, 377.

Regular employment for membergof a family, 328.

Religion, perversion of, 358.

JReligiouB excitement, 359.

Respect, American want of, 203,

Should be required at home, 304See Courtesy.

Respiration, organs of, 44.

Rewards, governing by, 283.


Roman Catholics, health of, duringLent, 133. Nuns, 458.

Rooms, care of, 368.

Rose-bushes, 386.

Running into debt, 366, 378.

S

St. Martin, Alexis, experiments on,

respecting food, 136.

Salt, for bleeding, 351.

Salts, 338.

School, on sending young children

to, 277.

Scliool-rooms and school-houses notventilated, 376.

Scolds, 216, 217.

Screens, movable, 38, 39, 456. SeeEyes.

Secret vice, 286.

Secreting organs, 153, 154.

Seeds, on planting, 380, 381. Offruit, on planting, 389.

Self-denial, happiness of, 335. Dis-

tinction as to, 335. In children,

377, 284.

Servants, 306, 334.

Services, paying children for, 339.Sewing, bj girls, 398. Hints on,

353-358.Sewing-trunks, 337.Sexes, American, 301.Sheep, 399.

Shells, collecting, 297.

Shirts, making, 357.

Sickness, on ignorance and inex-perience in time of, 336. Onnursing in, 343, 347. From chills

and food, 336. Remedies for

slight, 338. 8ee Health.Sick-rooms, hints on, 339. Furni-ture for, 340.

Silence, children to keep, 307, 383.When in anger, 316.

Sinclair, Sir John, on longevityandearly rising, 195.

Sinks, 35, 36.

Sisters of Charity, 346.

Skin, described, 150. Function ofthe, 151. Waste matter from the,

153. Absorbent vessels of the,

151. Circulation in the, in in-

fants, 165. Effect of cold on thecirculation in the, 166. Bathinginfants, 370.

Sleep, amount of, required, 194. On

protracting, 194. See Ventil*tion.

Smoky chimneys, 76, 78.

Snow, bathing in, 166.

Soda or Saleratus poisoning, 850.

Soil, on the preparation of, 379.

Soups, 183, 184.

Specimens, collecting, 297.

Spencer, Herbert, on training ofchildren, 363, 363.

Spine, disease of the, 160. Curva'tuieofthe, 160.

Sprains, 349.

Stain-mixture, 369.

Stains, removing, from marble,369.

Starch, to make, 391. To prepare,

393.

Starvation for want of oxygen, 48State charities of Massachusetts,

434.

Statuettes, 94.

Stimulating drinks, 138, 144. Ex-cite the nervous system, 138. De-bilitate the constitution, 138.

Temptation from using, 139.

Reasons for and against using,considered, 139, 140. Authorities on, 141, 143.

Stimulating food, 183. See Animalfood and Pood.

Stock-grafting, 387.

Stomach, 138 Peristaltic motionof the, 138. Effects on, of too

much food, 129. Rule for the la-

bor and repose of the, 139, 134.

Power of accommodation in the,

134.

Store-rooms, 376.

Stoves, 66-79.

Stove-pipes, 361.

Strangers, hospitality to, 301, 303.

Strawberries, 155.

Straw matting, 86, 93.

Strychnia, antidote for, 351.

Subordination, social, 199, Of chil-

dren and others, 301, 302. SeeGovernment.

Sunlight, importance of, to humanlife, 193, 194.

Superfluities, 337. Duty as to,

238.Sweeping, 369.Swine, 398.

Sympathy, on silent social, 313.System, continual change and r»

novation of the human, 133. On


habits of, 220-833. By dividingthe week, 226. In proper conve-niences, 327. On attempting toomucli, at once, 330. On com-mencing, whUe young, 333.

T

Table, manners, 206, 307.Taste for solid reading, 394.Tea, coffee and, on tbe use of, 143,

144. Cause nervous debility, 144.

Love of, uot natural, 144. Nonourishment in, 144. Should uotbe drank hot, 145. Hovir to makeproperly, 187-189. See Stimulateing.

Teachers, 357.Teeth, effects of hot drinks on, 145.

Care of, 273.

Teething of infants, 271.

Temper, on the preservation of

good, in a housekeeper, 313-319.See Passions.

Temptations, amusements with,

286, 287.

Tests of good kerosene, 363, 364.

Tendons, 114.

Theatres, 288, 291.

Thinning plants, 388.

Thoughts, on pure, 386.

Thunder-storms, 353.' Tight dressing, 160-165.

Time, on apportioning, 333, 336,

337. On saving, 347, 348. Errorsas to employing, 349. Devotedby Jews to religion, 349, 350.

Tin-ware, 374.

Tocqueville, M. De, on aristocratic

and democratic manners, 309,

310.

Tones of voice, 213. On governingthe, 316. Governing by angry,

217. Effects of angry, on chil-

dren, 383.

Tracts or books, and charity, 345.

Transplanting, 381, 383, 389.

Trees, on transplanting, 383. Prun-

ing and thinning, 387, 388.

Trials. See Difficulties.

Trunks, sewing, 227.

Turkeys, 400.

Unbolted flour, 135-137.

Use of water in fevers, 274,

Vegetable food, 134, 136. See Ani-mal food and Food.

Vegetables, effect of light and dark-ness on, 193. Cooking, 185-187.

Ventilation, importance of. ChapsIII, and IV. Statistics of, 433.Of sleeping-rooms, 436. Of school-rooms, 355, 356, 456. Of sick-

rooms, 339. Leeds's mode of, 419-433. See Air.

Vermin, on destroying, 877.Vertebra, 160.

Virtue. See Morals.Vulgar habits, 306.

WWages, exorbitant, of domestics,

338. Offering higher, 338.Walking for exercise, 117.Ward's case, how to make one

cheaply, 100.

Wardrobes, in movable screen, 28,39.

Waring on earth-closets, 403.Warm air, tends to rise, 60. Canbe used for ventilation, 63. Needsmoisture, 80-83.

Warm drinks, more wholesomethan hot, 145. How to make,187-189.

Washing, of the body, 156. Ofchildren, 157. Of infants, 369.Water for, 157. Of dishes, 373,373. See Bathing.

Waste matter from the skin, 154.

Water, on drinking, 143, 147.

Plunging infants in cold, 370.

See Drinks and Stimulating.Wealthy and benevolent women,examples of, 253-254. Plan for,

to take care of homeless andvicious, 447.

Wheat, proportion of nutritious

elements in, 133, 133. Unbolted,136, 137.

Wicks, 364. Of candles, 365.

Window, how to decorate, 96.

Winter air, 420.

Women, not properly trained for

their work, 13. American esteemfor, 301. Influence of, on individ-

uals and nations, 214. Respon-sibility of, as to intemperance.

149. Importance and difficulty of


their duties, 330-323. Generalprinciples for, 233 ; frequent in-

version of them, 325. Men en-

gaged in their work, 239. Ontheir keeping accounts of expen-ditures, 239. Appeal to American,462-470. See American women.

Wood, for fuel, 360.Wooden-ware, 375.

Work-baskets, 354, 355.

Yellows, the, 392.

Toung children, management of,

275-386. Animal food for, 375.

Intellectual and moral training

of, 376. On appreciating their enjoyments and pursuits, 380. Modesty and propriety in, 285. Iin>

purity of thought in, 886.

PART II.

Acids, citric and tartaric, 539.

Address of the Senior Author to

housekeepers, mothers, and teach-

ers, 553, 553.

Almond-eake, 506.

Apple bread, 486. Custard, 500.

Dumplings, with bread, 498. Ice,

518. Jelly, 518. Apple-lemonpudding, 517. Pie, (best,) 495.

Pie, (common,) 496, 600. Sauce,

474. Apple-snow, 518. Stewedor grated : Dessert of, with cold

rice, 499. Tarts, spiced, 500.

Appropriate arrangement of dishes,

531,-533.

Arrovyroot, tapioca, etc., 535.

Articles for ironing, 538, 539.

Asparagus, 481.

Aunt Esther's gingerbread, 507.

B

Bacon, tests of quality, etc., 440.

Baked fish, 477. Indian pudding,500. Meats, 464.

Barley-water, 533.

Bean soup, 455. Dried bean soup,with meat stock, 456.

Bedding, care of, 549.

Beef, boiled, 461. Edible, parts of,

(illustration,) 437. Frizzled, 469.Hash, 458. Pot-pie, 465. Roast,465. Salting to keep, 441. Tea,

533. Beefs gall, 538. Stew, withpotatoes, 448. Stew, with vege-table flavors, 448.

Beefsteak, alone, or with potatoesor turnips, 458. Broiled, 468.

Beets, 480.

Bicarbonate of soda, 539.

Bill offare, 546.

Bird's-nest pudding, 497.

Biscuit, milk, and white or unboltedflour, 489. Potato-biscuit, 487.

Soda, 487. Yeast, 487.

Blanc-mange, 518. Wheat-flourblanc-matige, 517.

Boiled fish, 477. Ham, beef,' fowls,

461. Shoulders, smoked tongues,463. Corned beef, 463. Part-ridges, pigeons, ducks, turkeys,

463.

Bologna sausages, 444.

Bones, laws of health for, 543.Brains, the, laws of health for, 550,

551.

Brandy peaches, 510.

Bread, general remarks, 481-488.Of fine flour, 484. Of middlingsor unbolted flour, 485. Raisedwith water only, 485. Of rye andIndian, of oat-meal, of pumpkin,of apples, 486. Third bread, 486.

Care of, 529. Bread-crumbs andcold meats, 458. Bread and fruit-

pudding, 496. Crumbs and fruit-

pudding, 498. Pudding for inva-lids, 501. Bread and appledum-pling, 498.

AlfALYTICAL 'INDEX. 585

Breakfast and supper, 488. An eco-

nomical disli, 489 Breakfast disli-

es, 488-493.Brine, ov pickles, for curing meats,

443, 444.

Broadcloth, liow to cleanse it, 536.

Broiled meats and relishes, 468.

Beefsteak, 468. Fisli, 477. Freshpork, ham, mutton lamb chops,468. Oysters, 476.

Broccoli or cauliflower, pickled, 473.

Broton flour for meat gravies. 465.

Buckwheat cakes, 491.

Buns, 487.

Butter,'524c, 527. Care of, 527. Tocool butter in hot weather, 544.

Butternut catsup, 475.

C

Cabbage, 480. Pickled, 473.

Cake, general directions, 493. Careof, 529. Almond, 506. Choco-late, 505. Cocoa-nut, 506. Dough,508. Fruit, 506. Huckleberry;Gold and silver, 506. Jelly; One,

two, three, four ; Orange, 505.

JPound, plain, with eggs, 506.

Raised with powders, 505.

Sponge, (rich and plain,) 507.

Calf's feet, liver and sweetbread,

403.

Calfsfoot jelly, 511.

Calfs head, 467. Soup, (plain,) 456.

Calf's head and feet, cleansing,

443.

Calicoes, how to wash them; 535.

Candied fruits, 519.

Cannedfruit, 510.

Capers, mock, 475.

Care of household goods, etc., 545,

546.

Carrots, 479.

Cases for sausages, 444.

Catsup, walnut or butternut, 475.

Tomato, 475.

Cauliflower or broccoli, pickled, 473,

480.

Celery, 480. In poultry stew, 448.

Cement for broken crockery, 533.

Charlotte Busse, 516.

Cheese, care of, 539. Cottage, 491.

Veal, 469.

Cherries, preserves, 512.

Chicken pie, 466. Pot-pie, 465. Sa-

lad, 475, 516. Stew, with celery,

etc., 448.

Children, drink and diet for, 515.

Chocolate, 531. Cake, 505.

Chowder, clam, 477.

Cider and toast, 533.

Citron melons, preserves, 513.

Clarified sugar, 519.

Clams, 477. -. Soup, 455. Chowder,477.

Cocoa, 531.

Cocoa-nut cake, 506. Pudding, 498.

Codfish, etc., 539. Codfish relish,

' 469.

Cojf««, 538. For children, 521, Fish-

skin for, 515.

Cold meat, 459. For dinner, a hashof, 459.

Cold rice, a way to use, 491.

Cookies, 507.

Cooking, measures used in, equiva-

lents, etc., 435.

Gorn-cake, sachem's head, 491.

Corn, green, 479. Patties, pudding,

501. Soup, 455.

Corned beef, boiled, 463. Hash,

459.

Corn-meal bread, 486. Muffins orgriddle-cakes, 489. Drop-cakes,

489. Pop-overs, 495. Sweet rolls

of, 487.

Cottage cheese, 491.

Crab-apple jelly, 513. Marmalade,513.

Cracks in iron, to stop them, 544.

Cracked wheat, with sugar andcream, as muffins, 489. Or drop-

cakes, 489.

Cracker, plum-pudding, 501.

Cranberry, 517, 474.

Creaking hinges, 544.

Cream, 531. For stewed fruit, 516.

Griddle-cakes, 490. Mock cream,- 498.

Cream tartar, etc., 539. Beverage,

533.

Crockery, cement for, 533. Break-

age of, how to prevent it, 533.

Crumpets, royal, 490.

Cucumbers, 480. Pickled, 471-478.

Curd pudding, English, 496.

Currants, 538. Preserved, to eat

with meat, 513. Plain, 513. Jel-

ly, 513. Currant whisk, 516.

Custard, apple, 500. 'Plain, 496.

Rennet, 497. >

586 ANALTTICAL INDEX.

D

Dangerous use of milk, 521.

Desserts and evening parties, 509.

Dessert of cold rice, and stewed or

grated apple ; of rice and fruit,

499.

Diet for invalids, 515.

Digestive organs, laws of health for,

548.

Dishes that belong together, 531,

533.

Dough-caTce, 508.

Doughnuts, 507.

Drawers, to make them slide easily,

544.

Drawn iutter, 474.

Dressing, salad, 475.

Dried bean or pea soup, 455.

Dried tomatoes in hash, 460.

Drinks for invalids and children,

515, 523. Simple, 521.

Drop-cakes, of fine wheat or rye,

490. Of pearl or cracked wheat,rye, or corn meal, 489.

Ducks, boiled, 463. Stewed, withcelery, etc., 448.

Dwmplings, bread and apple, 498.

E

^3Q^, ways of cooking, 481. Ome-let, 469. Preservation of, 533.

Egg-tea, coffee, and milk, 523.

Egg plant, 479.

English beef stew, 450. Curd-pud-ding, 496.

Essences, etc., 539.

Evening pa/rties, 509.

Eyes, etc., laws of health for, 550.

P

Fa/mily stores, how to provide, 580.Eever, drink for a, 533.

Msh, 476. Boiled, 477. Broiled,

477. Baked, 477. Pickles for

cold fish, 477. Salting down, 443.

Fish-skin for coffee, 515. Testsof quality, etc., 440.

Flavors for soups and stews, 451,452.

Floating island, 519.

Flour, etc., care of, 535. Puddings,500, 494. Brown flour for meatgravies, 465. Testa of quality.

483. Biscuits of unbolted flour,

with sour milk, 489.

Flummery, 516.

Folding dothes, 540.

Food and drink, rules of health in

regard to, 433.

Food, health, economy, and plea-

sure in, 433.

Fowls, boiled, 461. Fricassed, 463.

French modes of cooking soups andstews, 450, 451.

Fricasseed fowls, 462.

Fried meats and relishes, 468. Oys-ters or clams, 476. Cakes, 507.

Fritters, oyster, 476.

Frizded, beef, 469.

Fruit, candied, 519. Canned, 510.

Cake, 506. Iced, 518. Ice-cream,

516. Pies—peach, cherry, plum,currant, strawberry, 498. Fruit-

pudding, boiled, or with bread,496. Fruit-pudding, with flour,

494; with bread-crumbs, 498.

Stewed, cream for, 516. Dessert,

with rice, 499.

Froth, ornamental, 518.

FwrTfiture, how to renovate it, 544.

G

Gall, beefs, 538.

Gherkins, pickled, 471.

GingerVread, Aunt Esther's sponge,507.

Ginger-snaps, 507.

Gold and silver cake, 506.Gra/pes, preservation of, 544.

Gravies, brown flour for, 465.Gramies, sauces, and salads, 474.

Grease, how to remove it, 541, 545.

Green corn, 479. Patties, puddings,500. Soup, 455.

Green pea soup, 455.

GiHddle-cakes, 490. Of hominy,rice, corn-meal, 488. Of cream,490. Of buckwheat, 491.

Gruel, oat-meal, water, 522.

H

Bair, the, laws 6f health for, 550.

Ham, boiled, 461. Care of, 529.

Hash of cold ham, 459. Molassescured, 443. Smoking hams, 444.Tests of quality, etc., 440.

Hard sauce, 503.

ANALYTICAL INDBX. 587

Hard yeast, 484.Hashes, 457. Of fresh meats sea-

sonedJ of cold fresli meats and

potatoes ; of meat with eggs, 457.

Of meat with tomatoes ; of beef

;

of veal, (simple ;) of rice and coldmeats ; of bread-crumbs andmeats ; of cold beefsteak, alone or

with potatoes or turnips, 458.

Of cold mutton (or venison) andvegetables; of corned beef; ofcold ham; warmed over; ofcold meat for dinner, 459.

Hasty-'piidding, or mush, 497.

Health and happiness, laws of, 543.

Healthful pudding-sauce, 503.

Health, rules of, in regard to foodand drink, 433.

Herbs, 539.Herrings, salt, 469.

Hinges, to stop creaking, 544.

Hominy, fried ; muffins;

griddle-

cakes, 488. Stew, 449.

Hop yeast, 484.

Hot weather, to keep cool, 533.

Huckleberry-cake, 506.

Ice, apple, 518.

Ice-cream, 509. Strawberry, 509.

Without cream, 516.

Iced fruit, 518.

Icing for cake, 508.

Ices, lemonade, etc., 516.

Indelible ink, 533.

Indiana pickles, 473.

Indian-pudding, baked, 500. Boil-

ed, 499. With suet, 499. With-out eggs, 499.

Infant, food for, 533.

Ink, indelible, 533.

Ink, stains, how to remove them,

543.

Invalids, bread-pudding for, 501.

Drink and diet for, 515.

Irmi, crocks in, to stop them, 544.

Ironing, 540.

Irish stew, 449.

Idnglass, to clarify, 518.

Island, floating, 519.

Jetties, general directions, 504. Ap-

ple, 518. Calfs-foot, 511. Le-

mon, (simple,) 517. Orange, 518.

Quince, 511. Sassafras, 533.Wine, 517.

Jelly-cake, 505.

Kid gloves, to clean them, 545.

Kidneys, 463.

Knives, care of, 583.

Laces, how to starch them, 538.

Lamb, Chops, broiled, 468. Shoul-

der of, boiled, 463.

Lard, care of, 537. Trying out, 443.

Lemon jelly, (simj)le,) 517.

Lemon-ped, 538.

Lemon-pudding, 501.

Liquid sauce, 503.

Liver, how to cook calfs, pig's, or

beef's, 469.

Loaf-cake, ijlain or rich, 508.

Loaf-pudding, 501.

Lungs, the, laws of health for, 548.

Lye, soap, starch, etc., manufactureof, 536.

M

Macaroni, 481. Puddings of, 501.

Mangoes, pickled, 473.

Marketing, and the care of meats,436-441.

Ma/rmalade, orange, 517. Quince,

513.

Martinoes, pickled, 473.

Measly pork, 443.

Measures used in cooking, equiva^

lents, etc., 435.

Meats, marketing and the care of,

436.

Meats, boiled ; ham, beef, fowls,

461. Shoulders, 463. Smokedtongues, 463. Corned beef, par-

tridges, pigeons, ducks, and tur-

keys, 463.

Meats, roast ; beef, 464. Pork, mut-ton, veal, and poultry, 465. Hash-ed witli eggs, with potatoes, 457.

With tomatoes, 458. Meat andrusk puddings, 495. For sau-

sages, 444. Improved by keep-

ing, packed in snow, frozen,

tainted, 441,


Melons, citron preserves, 513.

Middlings, bread made from, 488.

Milk, dangerous use of, 521.

Milk and egg sauce, 474.

Milk-lemonade, 521.

Milk, sour, biscuits of, etc., 489.

Mint-sauce, 474.

Minute-pudding of potato-starcli,

497.

Miscellaneous advice and recipes,

533.

Miscellaneous cakes, 507.

Mock capers, 475.

Mock cream, 498.

Molasses, 537.

Monthly inspection of house, 545-56.

Muffins, of corti-meal, 488. Ofcraclied wlieat, 489. Of hominy,488. Of oat-meal, 489. Of rice,

488. Of rye, 489. Of wheat, 490.

Muscles, laws of health for, 5,43.

Mush, or hasty-pudding, 497.

Mush, of oat-meal, 489.

Mushrooms, pickled, 471.

Muslins, how to starch them, 538.Mutton, care of, 441. Chops, broil-

ed, 468. Cuts, etc., tests of quali-

ty, etc., 439. Edible parts of,

(illustration,) 439. Hash, cold,

459. Shoulder of, boiled, 463.

Soups, (rich or simple,) 456.

Stew, (French,) 450. Stew, (sim-

ple,) 448. Pie, mutton and beef,

466. Eoast, 465. Mutton and tur-

nip stew, (French,) 448.

N

Napkins, 534.

Nasturtiums, pickled, 471.

Nerves, etc., laws of health for, 551.

New-England squash or pumpkin-pie, 498.

O

Oat-meal, as mush or muffins, 488.

As bread, 486. As gruel, 533.

Odds and ends, 545, 546.

Oil, care of, etc., 527. How to re-

move it, 543.

OUa podrida, 450.

Omelet, 469. Of oysters or clams,

476.

One, two, three, four cake, 505.

Onions, 480. Pickled onions, 471.

Orange, peel, 538. Jelly, 518. Mar-malade, 517.

Oysters, stewed, fried, fritters, scal-

loped, broiled, omelet, 476.

Pickled, roast, 477.

Oyster-plant or salsify, 479.

Paint, how to remove it, 543.

Panada, 533.

Pan-dowdy, 495.

Paper for preserves, 544.

Parsnips, 480.

Partridges, boiled, 463.

Parties, desserts, etc., 509.

Paste for puddings and pies, 503.

Patties, green corn, 501.

Peaches, brandy, 510. Pickled, 470.

Preserved, (rich or plain,) 510.

Pearl-harley water, 533.

Pearl wheat, with sugar and cream,

as muffins or drop-cakes, 489.

Pea soup, 455. Dried-pea soup,

with pork, 456. Dried-pea soup,

with meat stock, 456.

Peppers, pickled, 471.

Pickle for cold fish, 477.

Pickle or brine for curing meats,

443, 444.

Pickled tomatoes, peaches, 470.

Peppers, nasturtiums, onions,

gherkins, mushrooms, cucumbers,

471, (and 473.) Walnuts, man-goes, cabbage, tomatoes, marti-

noes, 473, (and 473.) Oysters,

477. Indiana, 473. Vinegar for,

470. Sweet pickles, 470.

Pies, 493. Apple, 500. Chicken,

466. Crusts, 503. Fruit, 498. Mut-ton and beef, 466. Paste for, 503.

Potato, 467.

Pigeons, boiled, 463.

Pilaff, 449.

PfflaM, 463.

Pitch, etc., how to remove it, 541.

Plain heef soup, 455.

Plain cake, with eggs, 506.

Plain ealfs-head soup, 456.

Plain custard, 496, 497.

Plants, care of, 544.

Plums, purple, 511, 513. White,green, 513.

Pop-overs, corn-meal, 495.

Potash soap, preparation of, 537.

Potatoes, tests of qixality, etc., 478.


To cook old potatoes, 478. Stew,•with beef, 448. Sweet potatoes,479. Potato biscait, 487. Pie,467. Puffs, cold, 479. Soup, 454.Yeast, 484. Starch pudding, 497.

Pot aufeu, 450.

Pot-pie, of beef, veal, or chicken,465.

Pork, broiled, fresh, 468. Cuts,tests of quality, etc., 439. Edible,parts of, (illustration,) 439.

Pork, good and bad, 443. Kernelsin, 443 Salting, 444. Relish, agood, 468. Roast, 465, 493.

Poultry, roast, 463. Stew, withcelery, etc., 448. Tests of quality,etc. ; manner of killing, 440.

Pound-cake, 606.Preserves and jellies, general direc-

tions, 504. Care of, 539. Paperfor, 544. Peaches, quinces, 510.

Apples, pears, 511. Purple plums,

, 511, 513. Water-melon rinds,

513. Pumpkin, 514Provisions, salted, care of, 639.

Puddings and pies, 493, 495. Ap-ple-lemon, 517. Bird's nest, 497.

Boiled Indian and suet, 499. Breadand fruit, 496. Cocoa-nut, 498.

Cracker and plum, 501. Englishcurd, 496. Fruit, boiled, 496.

Fruit and breadcrumbs, 498.

Flour, (rich,) 494, 500. Indian,

baked, 500. Indian, withouteggs, 499. For invalids, 501.

Green corn, 501. Lemon, 501.

Macaroni or i vermicelli, 501.

Paste for, 503 Potato-starcli, 497.

Tapioca, 497. Queen of all pud;

dings, 494. Rice, 495. Sauces,

503.

Pumpkin, 480. Pumpkin or squash

pie, 498. Bread, 486. Preserves,

514.

Pyramid, ornamental, 519.

Q

Queen of all puddings, the, 494.

Quince jelly, 511. Marmalade, 513.

Quinces, preserved, whole, 510.

R

Badislies, 480.

Jiaisins, 538.

Ramberry jam, 513. Vinegar, 531.

Whisk, 516.Relishes, with boiled and fried

meats, 468.

Rennet, preparation of, 443. Cus-tard, 497. Whey, 533. Wine,497.

Rice, boiled, 488. Cold, a way touse, 491. Cold, dessert of, withstewed or grated apple, 499.Qriddle-eakes, muffins, 488. Withcold meats, 458. With fruit for

dessert, 499. Rice-chicken pie,

466. Pudding, 495. Stew, 449.

Waffles, 491.

Rich flowr pudding, 500.

Rinds, water-melon, preserves, 513.

Ripe fruit pies, 498.

Roast heef, 464, Pork, 465, 493.

Mutton, veal, poultry, 465. Oys-ters, 477.

Roasting in a cqok-stove, 465.Rolls of corn-meal, sweet, 487.

Royal crumpets, 490.

Rusk puddings, 495. With meat,495. With milk, 494.

Rust on knives, how to prevedt it,

533.

Rye bread, 486. With Indian, 486.

Muffins or drop-cakes, 489.

S

Sachem's head com^dke, 491.

Salsify, or oyster plant, 479.

Salads, etc, 474. Dressing, 475.

Chicken, 516. Turkey or chick-

en, 475.

Sally Lunn, 490.

Salt, care of, etc., 537. Salt provi-

sions, 539. Pork, 444. Herrings,469. Salting beef to keep, 441.

Salting down fish, 443.

Sassafras.jelly, 533.

Sausages, cases for, 444. Meat for,

444. Bologna, 444.

Sauces, etc., 474. Hard or liquid,

503. Milk and egg ; drawn but-

ter, mint, cranberry, apple, 474.

For puddings, 503.

Scallops, 477.

Setting tables, etc., 534.

Seed Cookies, 507.

Sliell-fish, tests of quality, etc., 440.

Silk articles, how to remove stains


from, 543. Black silk, liow to

renovate it, 545.

Silver, how to clean it, 544.

Simple drink, 521.

Skin, the laws of health for, 549.

Smoked tongiies, boiled, 463.

Smoke-lwuie, (illustration,) 445.

Snaps, ginger, 507.

Snow, a dish of, 519. Apple-snow,518. As a substitute for eggs,

544Soap, 528. Manufacture of, 536.

Soda, 528, 529. Biscuit, 487.

Soft-soap, prepai'ation of, 537.

Soup, general directions, 446, 447,

452-454. Beef, plain or rich

;

bones in soup, 454. Clam, corn,

dried pea or bean, green pea,

mutton, 455. Flavors for, 451.

Soup, kettle, (illustration.) 446.

French modes of making, 451.

Meats used for, 447. Frenchvegetable, 456. Soup powder,451, 453. Stock, 454. Potatosoup, 454. Skimming, 453.

Straining, 454. Vegetables for

summer, 455.

Sour milk, biscuits of, with unbolt-

ed flour, 489.

Spanish stew, 450.

Spices, 528. For soups and stews,

451, 453.

Spiced apple tarts, 500.

Spoiling hashes, 457.

Sponge-cake, rich and plain, 507.

Sprinkling, folding, and ironing,

540.

Squash, 480.

Squash or pumpkin pie, 498.

Stains on silk articles, liow to re-

move them, 543. On various arti-

cles, 540, 541. On varnish, 542.

Stain-mixture, (for cleansing,)

541.

Starch, 528. Use of, 538. Prepa-ration of, 536, 537.

Stews, 446. General directions, 447.

Beef and potato ; French muttonand turnip ; simple mutton stew

;

beef stew, with vegetable flavors;

poultry stew, with celery or to-

matoes, 448. French, Spanish,

450. Irish, veal, Turkish, rice, or

hominy, 449. Flavors for, 451.

Stewed fruit, cream for, 516.

Stock, soup, 454.

Store-room, 525.

Strawberry ice-cream, 509. Pre-

serves, 513. Vinegar, 531.

Whisk, 516,

Succotash, 479.

Sugar, kinds, etc., 535. Clarified,

519.

Suet and Indian pudding, boiled,

499.

Supper, 488.

Sweetmeats, syrup for, how to clari-

fy, 510.

Sweet pickles, 470.

Sweet potatoes, 479.

SyUabub, whip, 518.

Syrup, tomato, 522. For sweet-

meats, how to clarify, 510.

Table-cloths, 534.

Tainted meatj 441.

Tapioca, 525. Pudding, 497.

Tar, etc., how to remove it, 541.

Tarts, apple, spiced, 500.

Tasteful arrangement of dishes, 533.

Tea, 515, 538. White tea, 531.

TeetJi, etc., laws of health for, 550.

Third bread, 486.

Toast and cider, 533.

Tomatoes, 480. Catsup, 475. Sy-rup, 533. Pickled, 470. Dried,

in hash, 460. In poultry stew,

448.

Tongues, smoked, 462.

Tough beef, how to cook, 461.

Tripe, 460. •

Trying out lard, .443.

Turkeys, boiled, 463. Roast ; salad,

475. Stew, with celery, 448.

Turkish stew, 449.

XJ

Unbolted ftaur, bread made from,

485.

YoA'nish, to remove stains from,

543.

Variety of food, 525.

Veal-cheese, 469. Edible parts of,

(illustration,) 433. Roast, 465.

Pot-pie, 465. Cuts, tests of qua-

\


Shouldei: of, boil-lity, etc., 439.ed, 462.

Vegetables, 478. In stews, 448.Frenoli soup, with meat, 456.Soup for summer, 455.

Venison hash, cold, 459.Vermicelli or macaroni puddings,501.

Vinegar, 527. For pickles, 470.Strawberry and raspberry, 521.

WWaffles. See Breakfast dish, 489.

Unbolted flour, 490. Bice, 491.

Wallpa/per, how to clean it, 544.

Walnuts, pickled, 472. Catsup, 475.

Warming hashes, 459.

Washing, general directions, 584,

535. Clothes, bedding, etc., 534.

Ironing and cleansing, 530.

Water for soups, 454.

Wat&r-gruel, 522.

Water-melon rinds, preserved, 51S.Well, how to purify a, 544.

Wheai-flour, blanC mange, 517.

Wheat, pearl or cracked ; muffinsand drop-cakes of, 489.

Whey, rennet, 522. Simple wine,521.

Whip, syllabub, 618.

Whish, currant, raspberry, or strawberry, 516.

White tea, 521.

Whitening clothes, 540.

Wliortleberry. iS'«8 Huckleberry.Wine, rennet, preservation of, 497.

Wine jelly, 5i7. '

Wine whey, simple, 521.

Teast, recipe for, 484.

cuit, 487.

Teast, bis-

SOME GOOD BOOKS.FOB SAXE BY ALL BOOKSELLERS, OR MAILED, POST-PAID, TO AHT ADDRESS,

ON- RECEIPT OF THE PRICE, BY THE FUBLISHEBS,

J. B. FOED AI^D OOMPAI^Y,

No. 27 Park Place, K"ew York.

BEECHER'S SERMONS : First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, andSixth Series. From phonographic reports by T. J. Ellinwood, for fifteemyearaMr. Beecher's special reporter. Uniformly bound in dark brown English cloth.Single volumes, each complete, price, S 2.50 ; full set of six volumes for S 14.50.Bound in half morocco, ^ 5 per vol.

Of the first volume the .Advance, of Chicago, said :—

" The volume is a handsome one, and is prefaced with the best portrait of Mr.Beecher we have ever seen. The sermons are twenty-seven in immber, the regularSunday morning discourses of six months, and are a wonderful testimony, not only tothe real goodness of heart of the great Plymouth preacher, but to the fertility of re-source, industry of thought, and rare ability which can keep his regular ministrationsto such a height of average excellence."

. ..." These corrected sermons of perhaps the greatest of living preachei-s, — aman whose heart is as warm and cathohc as his abilities are great, and whose sermonscombine fidelity and Scriptural truth, great power, glorious imagination, fervidrhetoric, and vigorous reasoning, with intense human sympathy and robust commonsense."— British Quarter^ Review.

Each succeeding volume contains, also, six months' sermons (from 450 to 500 pp.)issued in style uniform with the First Series. The Second Series contains a fine

interior view of Plymouth Church, The other volumes are not illustrated.

LECTURE-ROOM TALKS. A series of Familiar Discourses,on Themes of Christian Experience. By Henry Warh Beecher. Phono-graphically reported by T. J. Ellinwood ; with Steel Portrait. 12mo, extracloth. Price, S 1.75. [ Out q/' print. fVill he reissued soon.]

"J.B.Ford & Co., who are now printers and publishers to the Beecher family,have collected in a handsome volume the Lecture-Room Talks of the Brooklynpreacher, held in the weekly prayer-meeting of the Plymouth Church. There is agreat deal of humorous talk mingled with much that is serious, and the subjects dis-

cussed are of the most varied kind. It is a charming hook.J*— Springfield {Mass.)Republican.

MY WIFE AND I ; or, Harry Henderson's History. ANovel. By ETarriet Beecher Stowe. Illustrated by H. L. StepbIens. 474

pages iextra cloth, stamped cover, $ 1.75.

This novel is the success of the year. It has been selling very rapidly ever since

its publication. Everybody is reading it.

' Always bright, piquant, and entertainmg, with an occasional touch of tenderness,

strong because subtle, keen in sarcasm, full of womanly logic directed against un-

womanly tendencies, Mrs. Stowe has achieved an unbounded success in this her

latest eSoxt."'— Boston Journal.

MATERNITY: A Popular Treatise for "Wives and Mothers.By T. S. Verdi, A. M., M. D., of Washington, D. C. Handsomely printed onfine paper, bevelled boards, extra English cloth. 12mo. 450 pp. Price,

$2.25. Fourtit Edition. '

" The author deserves great credit for his labor, and the book merits an extensive

circulation."— U. S. Medical and SurgicalJoumat i Chicago).

" There are few intelligent mothers who will not be benefited by reading and keep-

ing by them for frequent counsel a volume so rich in valuable suggestions. With its

tables, prescriptions, and indices at the end, this book ought-to do much good."—Hearth and Home." We hail the appearance of this work with true pleasure. It is dictated by a pure

and liberal spirit, and will be a real boon to many a young mother."— American Med-ical Observer {Detroit).

THE CHILDREN'S .WEEK : Seven Stories for Seven Days.

By R. W. Raymond. 16mo, Nine full-page illustrations by H. L. Stephbmsand Miss M. L. Hallock. Price, extra cloth , $ 1.25 j cloth, full gilt, $ 1.50.

" The book is bright enough to please any people of culture, and yet so simple thatchildren will welcome it with glee. Mr. Raymond's tales have won great popularityby their wit, delicate fancy, and, withal, admirable good sense. The illustrationsâil new and made for the book— are particularly apt and pleasing, showing forth the

,comical element of the book and its pure and beautiful sentiment."— Bi0ak> (JH. K)

' Commercial Advertiser,

THE OVERTURE OF ANGELS. By HENRY WardBeeoher. Illustrated by ELiUKT Fenn. 12m0} tinted paper, extra cloth, gilt.

Price, $2.00.

This exquisite gift book is an excerpt from Mr. Beecher'a great work, the " Life ofJesus the Christ." It is a series of pictures, in the author's happiest style, of the

Angelic Appearances, giving a beautiful and chflracteristically interesting treatmentof all ,the events recorded in the Gospels as occurring about the period of the na-tivity ofour Lord.

" The style, the sentiment, and faithfulness to the spirit of the Biblical record withwhich the narrative is treated are characteristic of its author, and will commend it tomany readers, to whom its elegance of form will give it an additional attraction."—Worcester {Mass.) Spy.

"A perfect fragrpent."- iVew Yorh World.

OUR SEVEN CHURCHES : Eight Lectures \>j THOMAS K.BEEfHER. 16mo. Paper, 60 cents j extra cloth, % 1 ; cloth, gilt, S 1.25.

" The eight lectures comprised in this volume are conceived in a spirit of broadliberality as refVeshing as it is rare. They evince, in the most gratifying manner pos- ,

sible, how easy it is to find something good in one's neighbors or opponents, or evenenemies, if one tries faithfully to do so, instead of making an effort to discover a faultor a weakness. The volume is on&which should have, as it undoubtedly will, a widecirculation."— Detroit Free Press.

MINES, MILLS, AND FURNACES of the Precious Metalsof the United States. Being a complete Exposition of the General Methods em-ployed in the great Mining Industries of America, including a Review of thepresent Condition and Prospects of the Mines throughout the Interior and Pacific

States. By 'Rossiter W. Raymond, Ph. D., United States Commissioner ofMining Statistics, President American Inst. Mining Engineers, Editor of theEngineering and Mhrnig Journal^ author of " The Mines of the West," *' Amer-ican Mines and Mining," etc., etc. 1 vol. 8vo. 566 pnges. Illustrated withengravings of machines and processes. Extra cloth, ffi3.60.

" The author la thorough in his subject, and has already published a work on ourmines which commanded universal approval by its clearness of statement and breadthof views."- ^^ftany {N. V.) Argus." His scientific ability, his practical knowledge of mines and mining, his unerring

judgment, and, finally, the enthusiasm with which he enters upon his work, all com-bine to fit him for his position, and none could bring to it a greater degree of upright-ness and f3.ira.QBa."— Denver {Col.) News.

Documents

The new housekeeper's manual